Until the Time is Through
by SammiPress
Summary: A depressed girl is about to embark on a journey of a lifetime and find out what it truly means to live. (Hope you guys like the story and all reviews are welcome. Enjoy.)
1. Chapter 1

(The story belongs to J.R.R Tolkien and the movies belongs to Peter Jackson.)

It was midwinter, the weather was below freezing but my dog wanted to go out for a walk; I wanted to refuse and I couldn't ignore his puppy eyes any longer. So, putting on my largest and warmest coat, I leashed him and we walked to the local dog park. The other dogs were friendly as well as he, so it wasn't unusual for me to unleash and let him run around to play with the others; I laughed as he did so.

I sat a bench watching my dog and smiling, he was a lovable dog…he never growled or bit however when I first adopted him he was afraid of me. He was only a puppy and the family that had him before me abused him, so when I rescued and adopted him he'd cower away from my touch putting his tail between his legs. Soon he grew out of it as he learned I was no danger to him, now he's an excitable dog who loves everyone.

As I watched my dog play I felt a presence beside me, I glanced over for a second and smiled kindly. It was always an option to talk to other dog owners at these kinds of places and the rest of them always did, however I kept my distance. "Hello" the person beside me said, then he coughed, "Which one is yours?" I guessed he was trying to fill the silence as I sensed he felt a little awkward, so I answered," The orange and white corgi", then I pointed to my dog. "What's your dog's name", the man beside me asked sounding genuinely curious. "Mango", I said and laughed a bit, "He loves mangos", the man chuckled after hearing this. It didn't seem he was laughing at me or the idea of it, he just laughed…to laugh.

"Yep", I said awkwardly as I looked back to check on my dog noticing he wasn't there, looking around I realized he wasn't in the dog park. I stood up frantically, looking for my dog, "What's wrong", the man asked me, "I don't see my dog", I replied anxiously. "Maybe he ran into the forest" the man suggested from the bench calmly. My head turned toward him so fast that anybody watching might have thought I had a whiplash. If he ran into the woods, he might've been chasing a rabbit or a squirrel or a chipmunk, "If he did, he's most likely going to be in danger." "How do you know", the man asked and I looked at him annoyed, then pointed to the signs at the edge of the forest that read: Warning Do Not Enter. "Why would they build a dog park here then", the man asked me and I shrugged turning back around and headed for the forest.

However I felt someone grab my arm," Wait-"." No, I'm going to get my dog", I told him angrily pulling my arm away. Looking at the man I saw that he gave me a calm, but firm look, "I wasn't going to suggest that, there's a police officer guarding that area. I can distract him while you sneak in", the man told me and I nodded agreeing with the plan. "But there's a catch" he said and I looked at him quizzically, "Once you go in…it may be harder for you to get back out. Are you willing to take that risk?" "Yes", I replied instantly not realizing the true meaning behind his words, all I cared about at that moment was saving my dog and the answer seemed to have satisfied the older gentleman before me.

"Okay. Now go, I'll signal you", the old man told me before I got into position where I was unnoticed by the policeman, but somewhat easy to see. There was only one policeman to distract this is going to be easy, I thought to myself. Glancing over to the old man I had spoken to before, easily had the officer distracted as the man told him his woes of losing his dog. Then getting the clue, I quietly walked passed them with the officer's back to me, I worded a thank you to the man before going into the forest.

As I went deeper into the forest, I felt the air around me grow heavier and my surroundings turned slightly foggy as the trees seemed to vibrate in place. It continued to get darker the further I went in, which was unusual considering it was in the middle of the day. "Mango", I called slightly anxious about not having found my dog yet and the changing scenery. I heard nothing except the whistling of the wind and rustling of leaves, I shivered and drew my coat closer to me and continued walking.

An hour passed and there was no sign of my dog, looking around I realized I was incredibly lost; then I looked back and noticed I ventured way further then I intended. My throat ached from calling out for Mango, now I was starting to think the old man had led me astray. I didn't stop to think, I was too caught up in trying to find my dog that I overlooked the possibility that the old man played me for a fool. How could I trust a stranger so easily? I sighed, now wasn't the time to be angered and worried about it, I had to think about the current matter: lost in a dense forest.

"Are you lost", I heard someone say behind me and when I turned around I saw a man who wore a grey pointed hat, a grey robe, and grey boots; his hair, long beard, and eyes were also grey the only thing that wasn't were his…I'm going to guess long walking stick that was a golden brown. He looked pretty weird if I was honest, he looked like he was dressed to go to comic-con. As if reading my mind, he said, "Now it's rather rude to stare and I don't judge the first person I see when I need help."

Then I recognized his voice," You lead me in to this forest…but you have a beard. Stay away from me", I told the old man angry and confused. "Ah…yes well if I were to go to your time looking the way I do now. You would've passed me off as mad or `weird`", he told me. I looked at him guiltily but kept up my cautious position, what he said however made me even more confused and why was he so much taller than I was. "You're not in your timeline anymore" the man told me calmly, "The reason that you are small and still small is because I had to pull you through a tiny wormhole that appeared in this timeline. It was only here for a limited time and I could only fit you through if you were the size that you currently now are. I only had enough power to enlarge myself, but not you…you may be stuck at that height for a while", the man said.

I looked at him flabbergasted and then shook my head, "That's…that's impossible…there's no such thing in-", "Magic? Time travel? My dear, here anything is possible", the old man said cutting me off. "Who are you and where is here", I asked the old man breathlessly, "Ah, how rude of me to forget my name is Gandalf the Grey and you are in Middle-Earth", Gandalf told me. "Okay…Middle-Earth…huh guess I'm not in Kansas anymore", I said the last part quietly, quoting Wizard of Oz. Trying to calm down, I tried convincing myself this was only a dream; shrinking and time travel was impossible…that can never happen…right?

"Would you like to go with me on an adventure", Gandalf suddenly asked me and I was about to tell him a flat out no, until I stopped myself. Taking a good look around I realized I really had nowhere else to go, I was lost, and he was my only chance of getting out currently. Coming to a decision, I said" Fine", then sighed, I can always ditch him later when I'm somewhere safe. His character was somewhat shady but kind, however I wasn't sure I could trust him; then he smiled warmly and gestured for me to follow him, "We need to make a stop first" he told me, "Fine by me", I said calmly and thought that I could ditch him there, once his back was turned.

Gandalf chuckled as we made our way to a path that wasn't too far from where we were, wait…where did this path came from? Was there a path here all along and I just couldn't see it? I sighed angrily as we followed down the dirt path to a village where the houses were built into hills. "Welcome to Hobbiton, better known as the Shire", Gandalf told me and the sight took my breath away; the grass was a bright shade of green, the lake in the middle of the village was a brilliant shade of blue, and the orange sun was setting in the distance as we made our way up to the highest hill. "I forgot to ask, how's my dog", I asked looking up at Gandalf, "I made sure to steer him to a loving family", he told me and I glared up at him, "Why couldn't I take him with me", I asked, "Because he would be in danger if you did", "Why is that", I asked confused, then he ignored me...guess I have no choice but to take him on his word.

The men and women gave us questioning glances, before returning to their garden or going inside their house. I noticed I was the same height as most of the female hobbits in Hobbiton, as we drew closer to the tallest hill I saw a man sitting on his bench as he smoked his pipe then blew out a smoke ring. Hearing Gandalf chuckle, I looked up at him to see he had a look of mischief twinkling in his eye; then he waved his walking stick and the smoke ring transformed into a smoke butterfly then flew into the man's face. Then man opened his eyes in surprise as he felt the sensation, then he looked up at Gandalf whose shadow loomed over the man. He looked at me and then back to Gandalf nervously, then he smiled," Good morning" he told us both, "What do you mean" Gandalf asked, "Do you mean to wish us a good morning or mean that it is good if we want it or not? Or that you feel good this particular morning or that it is a morning to be good on?"

I sighed annoyed at Gandalf as the man replied, "All of them at once, I suppose", the man gestured `all` with his pipe. "Good morning", I said to the man and smiled pleasantly, I did want to come off as rude or being impossible like Gandalf. "Good morning", the man said happily me, his nervous expression gone; I heard Gandalf hum beside me unsatisfied.

The man shifted in his seat uncomfortably and glanced at the two of us, "Can I help you", he asked curiously". "That remains to be seen", Gandalf said leaning on his walking stick or staff since it's `magical`. "I'm looking for another to share in an adventure", he told the man excitedly, "You're kidding me right? Not only are you dragging me into your crazy adventure, but you're going to pull him-"I was cut off when Gandalf raised his hand toward me and my mouth shut tight. I tried opening it, but to no avail; then I glared up at Gandalf, with hands on my hips, and cussing him out in my head.

Then I crossed my arms, "Are you going to behave", Gandalf told me as if I were a child and I nodded giving him a sharp glare. Waving his hand again my lips loosened, but I kept my mouth shut…I didn't dare to speak now. The man gave us questioning glances before he said, "Well, I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures", then he went over to his mailbox and pulled out a few letters. As he closed the mailbox, he continued, "Nasty, uncomfortable things; they'll make you late for dinner", then the man chuckled as he shifted through his letters, looking through them and I couldn't help but laugh quietly as his quirky behavior.

The he placed the pipe back into his mouth and puffed, then he huffed looking at both Gandalf and I before walking away awkwardly and saying, "Good morning." I lifted a brow at his sudden change of mood as Gandalf said upset, "To think I should have lived to be `good morninged` by Belladonna's Took's son as if I were selling buttons at the door." This caused the man t stop and look at Gandalf, "Beg your pardon", the man asked confused, "You've changed Bilbo Baggins", Gandalf said disappointed. "Sorry, do I know you? Either of you", Bilbo asked us and I shook my head.

"Well you remember my name, although you don't remember I belong to it. I'm Gandalf and Gandalf means…me and this is Liliana Short, her name is quite ironic I must say", Gandalf said introducing me amused. "Or you can just call me Lily", I said now accepting the fact that this was a dream and Bilbo nodded politely in my direction, "Nice to meet your acquaintance Liliana Short", he said and I blushed awkwardly and said, "Um…likewise Bilbo Baggins", and then I uncharacteristically curtsied.

"Oh, Gandalf the wondering wizard who made such excellent fireworks", Bilbo said suddenly to Gandalf, "Old Took used to have them midsummer's eve", he said chuckling before clearing his throat. He returned to his straightened posture and gave us a straight face, "I had no idea you were still in business", Bilbo said smoking his pipe as he was composed once more. Then I had an idea to break his composure and I walked over to the gate and leaned against it, "What were the fireworks like" I genuinely curious, "They were wonderful and beautiful", Bilbo told me and I smiled urging him to go on, "The fireworks would blast up into the sky and explode in fires of snapdragons and lilies, much like your name and hang in the twilight all evening", he told me. "That does sound wonderful and beautiful", I said dreamily as we both stared of into space. At least until Gandalf coughed, then both Bilbo and I stood straight embarrassed. "Well, I am pleased to find you remember something about me…even if it's only my fireworks", Gandalf said unhappily.

"Yes well, it's decided then it shall be very good for both you and very amusing for me. I shall inform the others; Bilbo allow her to stay in the meanwhile, will you", Gandalf asked Bilbo, beginning to walk away. "Inform the who? What? No,no,no, she's free to stay here if she wishes, but we do not want any adventures here thank you. Not today-come Liliana I'll show you to the guest room", Bilbo said frantically running to his green door and gestured me to follow him, "Oh, right", I said going through the gate and walked up to him. "And I suggest you try over the hill or across the water", Bilbo said gesturing across the way with his pipe before opening the door. Pulling me inside he quickly said, "Good morning", to Gandalf, before closing the door behind us.

He looked at the door and sighed, then we heard a scratching noise coming from the other side of the door. Bilbo went to check through the window to see what was going on, when he saw a giant eye that scared him away. Putting my hands on my hips, I glared at Gandalf's giant eye that was magnified by the window before he looked at me amused and walked away. Looking at Bilbo I noticed he was hiding under his archway, "He's gone", I told him, "Oh, good", Bilbo said relieved. "Would you like something to eat before I show you to your bedroom", he asked me and my stomach grumbled, making me blush embarrassingly. Bilbo just waited patiently, "Sure", I said nervously and Bilbo nodded then started to prepare dinner, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about if you're hungry", he told me, "I know, but it was still embarrassing non-the-less", I said and he chuckled.

"Make sure to take off your shoes", Bilbo told me and I immediately took them off at the door, then set them aside before entering completely into Bilbo's house. It was getting dark, Bilbo and I had prepared two cooked fish, cooked carrots, cooked beans, a plate full of biscuits, a bowl of stuffing, and two cups of tea; I decided to help him after he told he was going to cook all that. At first he declined and when I insisted, he sighed then agreed; as we cooked, we also talked all evening. We talked about our dislikes, our likes, our favorite colors, I told him how beautiful his house was and he blushed at that, where we were born (I told him far away), and I even told him I had a dog back home (excluding the part where he found a new home.) When we were done, we sat happily across from each other ready to eat.

At least we were, until there was a ring at the door and Bilbo huffed the excused himself before getting up to answer the door, "Dwalin, at your service", I heard a man say at the door. "Um…Bilbo Baggins at yours, do we know each other", Bilbo asked to which Dwalin replied with an obvious, "No." Then I saw a bald and long bearded man at the archway, "Ah you must be Mrs. Baggins, I am at your service", Dwalin said bowing to me, my face turned a bright shade of pink as I dropped the biscuit I was about to eat. "You-you are mistaken sir! She is not my wife", Bilbo said nervously, blushing as well. "Ah, are you wooing her then", Dwalin asked him calmly and Bilbo blush deepened. Wait, was this a date that I wasn't aware of? "No, no, I was not "wooing" her, she is a guest and I was trying to make her feel welcome", Bilbo said nervously. "It is no concern of mine, laddie", Dwalin said handing him his cloak, before taking Bilbo's place at the table and ate his food.

Bilbo sat in the corner looking unhappily at Dwalin, after taking a sip of tea and attempted to give a plate of food to Bilbo, "You have to eat and I already ate plenty", I told him. He just shook his head, "No that is your plate", he said refusing the plate that I offered him and I huffed a little annoyed, "I insist, take my plate. I'm full, I promise", I told him and Bilbo sighed, then placed the plate gently on his lap and ate. "Take your flirtations elsewhere", Dwalin said grumpily, both Bilbo and I realized there was another person in the room and we blushed. "We are not-", Bilbo said, but was cut off when there was a ring at the door. Quickly, he stood up and placed his plate on the table, "We are not flirting", Bilbo told Dwalin as he went to check the door.

"Balin, at your service", I heard a man say at the door, walking around the corner to see who it was I saw a man with white hair that matched his white beard. The man smiled when he saw me, then said, "You must be Mrs. Baggins, I am at your service", Balin said and bowed. Bilbo simply shook his head, "She is not my wife", he told Balin, "Oh, wooing her then", he asked Bilbo as he let himself in.

"Good evening", Bilbo said to Balin, "Yes, yes it is…but I think it may rain later", Balin replied and the shook Bilbo's hand. "Am I late", he asked Bilbo and Bilbo narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Late for what", he asked the older man. Then Balin looked over to see Dwalin trying to reach his large hand into a jar in an attempt to grab a cookie. "Oh, evening brother", Balin said happily to Dwalin and walked up to him, both me chuckled as Dwalin place the jar onto the table. "By my beard…you're shorter and wider than last we met", Dwalin said to Balin, this looked less than a family reunion and looked more like a fight was about to happen as they drew closer to one another. "Wider not shorter", Balin corrected, "Sharp enough for the both of us", he said to Dwalin and they both laughed. They laughed happily as they each grabbed each other by the shoulders and banged their heads, still they laughed and I sighed relieved.

"Um, excuse me, hate to interrupt but I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house", Bilbo said as Dwalin walked into Bilbo's pantry to grab a jug of beer. Both Balin and Dwalin were in Bilbo's pantry and seemed to ignore him as he spoke, "It's not that I don't like visitors, I like visitors as much as the next hobbit", "Hobbit", I questioned looking at Bilbo. "A group of respectable people, who never leave home, or go on adventures; except the occasional Took", Bilbo told me, then gave me a questioning look, "I've been meaning to ask, if it's not too impolite, but what are you", Bilbo asked me curiously. "Well, I'm really short in stature to what I usually am. However Gandalf shrunk me", I told him, "Species of me, then", Bilbo asked and I nodded.

"As I was saying before, I like visitors, but I do like to know them before they come visiting", Bilbo said before I interrupted him, "You didn't get to know me until I was in your house", "I got to know you partially in the garden", Bilbo told me. Then I moved out of the way when Dwalin threw out a chunk of blue cheese out the pantry. "But the thing is I don't know either of you. Not in the slightest, I don't mean to be blunt but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry", Bilbo finished holding his hands up in surrender. Both men stopped for a moment to look at Bilbo, "Apology accepted", Balin finally said after a long pause.

Both brothers continued to talk amongst themselves as the door rang again, I decided to join Bilbo as he answered the door. "You took me being…species of men rather well", I commented to Bilbo, "Nothing surprises me anymore", as he opened the door to see two young men who looked around my age, on the other side of it. "Scratch that", Bilbo told me and looked at the men unhappily, "Fili and Kili, at your service", both men said, then they bowed, "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Boggins", the dark haired man said, who I presumed was Kili. Immediately, Bilbo began to shut the door and said, "We are not married, you cannot come in, you've come to the wrong house."

"What", Kii asked confused keeping the door open, "Has it been canceled", "No one told us", said Fili. Bilbo looked at the two me confused, "No, nothing's been canceled…there's nothing to cancel", Bilbo told them and both men sighed. "Well that's a relief", Kili said barging in as well as Fili, as soon as he came in Kili winked at me, I scoffed and walked away. "Is she your sister", I heard Kili ask, "No", Bilbo replied", "Cousin"," No", "Second Cousin", "No." "Leave the lad alone, he's trying to woo the lass", I heard Balin say. "Careful with these, they just got sharpened", Fili said placing the weopns in Bilbo's arms.

"It's nice, this place", Kili said looking around, "It is, did you do it yourself for the lass", Fili asked winking at Bilbo, causing him to blush. "No, it's been in the family for years", Bilbo told Fili. Kili was about to wipe his shoes on some furniture before I dragged him away and led him to the dining area, "How about you go in there and eat something", I said and Kili replied with, "I think I will", then he smirked at me before walking away and I rolled my eyes.

Everyone started to make room in the dining area, "Better move some this or we won't be able to fit everyone in", Balin said, "What? How many of you are there", Bilbo questions as another ring came from the door. "Oh no….there's nobody home", Bilbo said walking to the door, then placed down the weapons he was carrying. "Go away and bother somebody else, there's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is", Bilbo yelled and I quickly followed him curious to see who was at the door. "If this is some clot-head's idea of a joke" Bilbo laughed sarcastically, "I can only say, it is in very poor taste", as he said this he swung the door open and a group of men or should I say dwarves fell in and behind them stood Gandalf who had to bend down in the doorway to look at us, "Gandalf", I head Bilbo say unhappily.

After Gandalf walked into the house, while chuckling at us amused, all the dwarves stood up as Gandalf introduced them, "Bilbo, Liliana let me introduce Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Glion, Bifur, Bofur, and finally Bombur." The dwarves just stood there as Bilbo said, "We're not married, if that's what you wanted to know." "We weren't going to ask that, but thanks for inviting us", Bofur said as they all barged in.

All the dwarves were in the pantry now taking everything out and placing it on the table, I could see Bilbo's face turn red in frustration as he stood in the doorway in an attempt to stop the dwarves. "Excuse me, not my wine that's for special occasions", Bilbo said, "What? We're just helping you with the lass", said Fili and Bilbo gave him an annoyed look as the dwarves passed him carrying heaps amounts of food. "This does seem a bit excessive", I said as I watched them pass by with large amounts of food on their plates. "Put that back, put that back", Bilbo told each dwarf who walked passed him.

"Not the jam please, excuse me, excuse me", Bilbo said upset and frustrated, "Bilbo", I called as I walked up to him, "Do you see this? Their completely ransacking my pantry", he told me. "Yeah, I have a feeling it's going to become empty before you can stop them", I said and he raised his eyebrows. "Over my dead body", he told me and attempted to grab a big roll of cheese away Bombur, who just snatched it away and continued walking back to the table. Bilbo sighed as I said, "Just stay calm and let him have it, maybe there'll be some food left", "Calm? How can I be calm when their ruining my house", Bilbo told me as we watched the dwarves grab antique chairs and tableware from the kitchen, then Bilbo went after them.

Gandalf came through the hall, looking at all the dwarves, "We appear to be one dwarf short", Gandalf said quietly, "He is late is all, he traveled north meeting our kin. He will come", Dwalin reassured Gandalf. "Another dwarf", I questioned as Bilbo fought a dwarf who clogged up the toilet, "Mr. Gandalf? A little glass of red wine, as requested. It has a fruity bouquet", said Dori. "Ah, cheers", Gandalf said lifting the cup to take a sip, when he went for another he was disappointed to see it empty. I gave an unlady-like snort as Bilbo came down the hall with his hands on his head, all but giving up on stopping the dwarves.

Bilbo came up to stand beside me with his hands covering his face, "The pantry is completely empty", he told me muffled through his hands, looking at me through the cracks of his fingers. "All of it", I questioned and he nodded", who wants ale here you go", I heard Fili say as he walked on the table pouring everyone a drink before jumping into his seat. They all quickly drank their drinks and they had a burping contest, I looked away disgusted as did Bilbo. "I'm sorry that our evening was interrupted", Bilbo told me, "It's not a problem", I said shrugging, "but you do owe me dinner", I said jokingly. "You have my word", Bilbo told me seriously and I smiled genuinely, "I'll hold you to it", I said. It was silent for a moment before the dwarves started talking and laughing again. Were they listening, I asked myself then I blushed as I narrowed my eyes at the dwarves and Gandalf.

After dinner, everything was eaten and the dwarves were now drinking their mugs of beer, one dwarf tried to clean a dish with a decorative cloth, "Excuse me, that is a doily not a dishcloth", said Bilbo snatching it from the dwarf. "But it's full of holes", Bofur said confused, "It's supposed to look like that it's crochet", Bilbo told him. Bofur replied with, "Oh and a lovely game that is too. If you got the balls for it", and Bilbo immediately went to cover my ears, "Excuse me, but there is a lady in the room", he told the dwarf. "You know I can still hear you and you don't have to protect my ears. I've heard far worse, trust me", I told Bilbo and removed his hands from my ears.

Bilbo looked like he was just about ready to pull his hair out, "Bebother and confusticate these dwarves", he suddenly said out loud, "Sorry", Bilbo said looking at me. "Oh no, it's perfectly reasonable", I told him and he gave me a small smile as he calmed down a bit. "Do you want to talk about it", I asked him, "Talk about it? Aha yes, I'm surrounded by dwarves. What are they doing in my house Gandalf", Bilbo said looking up at Gandalf as he walked by. "Oh, they're quite a merry gathering once you get used to them", Gandalf said amused. Bilbo just shook his head, "I don't want to get used to them", Bilbo told Gandalf frustrated then pulled him away to talk to him.

Then Fili and Kili dragged me to the dragged room to talk to them "So wahat are you to Mr. Baggins", Kili asked me, "Not family, but clearly something special", Fili said as well and the both looked at me curiously. "We only just met today", I told them and their eyes widened at that, "I don't understand what they're doing in my house", I heard Bilbo said loudly from across the hall. Then I watched a young looking dwarf, who was called Ori, walk up to him as he held a plate, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate." "Here you g Ori, give it to me", Fili said the grabbed the plate, throwing it to Kili, who threw it into the kitchen.

"Excuse me! That's my mother's West Forthing pottery, it's over a hundred years old", Billbo said as the dwarves kept throwing and playing with the dishes. Even Gandalf played along and I flinched as a plate flew by me, which made Bilbo walk over to me pushing me out of the way by my shoulders. Then he looked over to the dwarves who sat at the table, who played with the silverware, "And can you not do that? You'll blunt them", Bilbo said to the dwarves. "Oh you hear that lads, he said we'll blunt the knives", Bofur said teasingly, then the dwarves began to sing:

"Blunt the knives, bend the forks

Smash the bottle and burn the corks,

Chip the glasses and crack the plates,

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates.

Cut the cloth, tread the fat,

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat,

Pour the milk on the pantry floor,

Splash the wine on every door.

Dump the cracks in a boiling bowl,

Pound them up with a thumping pole,

When you're finished, if they are whole

Send them down the hall to roll.

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

The dwarves laughed as they finished their song, looking into the kitchen Bilbo and I saw that they had cleaned the dishes and silverware, have them stacked and organized on the table. Then suddenly there was a few loud bangs that came from the front door and all was silent, "He is here", Gandalf said seriously. "Who's here", I asked Gandalf as he walked to the door, then he turned his head to look at me, "He should be the one to tell you that I think", Gandalf said and then opened the door.

At the entrance there stood a man or dwarf, his hair was a mixture of grey and black wearing two braids in the front. The dwarf before me wore a cloak over his greyish brown vest and armor, then he took it off and hung it up. This dwarf had an aura of superiority and authority, which made me feel a little uncomfortable, "Gandalf", the dwarf said, greeting the taller old man smiling. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find, I lost my way twice. I wouldn't have found it at all, had it not been for that mark on the door", he said closing the door behind, once he was all the way inside the house.

"Mark", Bilbo questioned, poking his head out from with the dining room before walking into the hall with the rest of us, "There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago." "Gandalf put it there", I said and Bilbo gave me a questioning look, "Remember the scratching we heard this morning and the giant eye", I said, explain it to him. "Yes, I indeed put it there", Gandalf said, confirming what I had just said.

"Bilbo Baggins and Liliana Short, allow me to introduce the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield" Gandalf introduced as Thorin looked at us unimpressed. "So…this is the hobbit and daughter of men…why is she shrunk", he asked Gandalf, "I can regrow her if you wish", Gandalf suggested. "Okay, I'm literally in the same room", I said annoyed, "No, this will make traveling easier", Thorin said, completely ignoring me. "Now, tell me Mr. Baggins and Miss Short, have you done much fighting", Thorin asked circling us and I glared at him, who only smirked at me amused. "Parden me", Bilbo asked, "Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice", Thorin asked us both.

"Well, I do have some skill in conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant", Bilbo said confused and then Thorin looked at me, "And you", he asked. "Me? What about me", I asked confused, "What's your weapon of choice", Thorin said clarifying his question. I thought about his question for a moment before answering, "Not an axe or a sword, but probably a dagger; easy to use, easy to carry, and easy to hide." Thorin nodded and then asked me, "Have you used the weapon before", "I have, but it was a long time ago…when I was young and stupid, I used it for picking locks and…robberies", I told him honestly.

"Thought as much, seems the girl is more useful to be our burglar, then the burglar himself", Thorin told the other dwarves amused and they chuckled. "He is perfect to be our burglar and she has other skills not just in thievery", Gandalf told Thorin, who looked at him questioningly. "Like what", he asked the old man, "She can sense the feelings of others and knows when they are near. Much like myself, but with aptitude", Gandalf said and I looked at him confused. "If that's true, that could be dangerous…and useful", Thorin said, then looked at me, "Give me an example."

I looked at the leader of our company as if he were crazy, "What? I can't do that", I told him, "You can", Gandalf reassured me, "When we first met you sensed my presence and ever since coming here you've sensed everyone's emotions, but now we need you to try and focus on one person and give a really good example." I sighed and did as Gandalf told me, since it was Thorin who told me to this, I'd figured he deserved the same treatment and focused on him. When I looked at Thorin and idea struck my head: dragons, confused, I breathed through my nose focusing speaking my thoughts, "Dragons", suddenly my eyes closed as an image of a dragon flew over my head and burned a village or a city.

The images consumed my mind as I felt myself hide behind a pillar and protecting someone from the fire blast of the dragon, looking down I saw a young Balin. "What do you see", I heard a distant voice ask and my brain jumpled at the foreign memories, "Fire, fear, anxiety, dragon, screaming, the village is burning", then I felt myself run and continues, "Treasure room, grandfather, protect, have to get out, have to protect, people are dying, home is gone, dragon took it,…elves? Will they help? They're leaving, dying, we're dying and they leave, hate, loathing,…regret. Home, have to get home, have to…glowing, something is glowing, mountain, throne, pulling, beckoning, "come closer" it whispers, mountain, heart, stone, stone, stone, stone-", "Enough", I heard someone shout as they grabbed my shoulders and shook me awake.

Opening my eyes I saw Thorin standing in front of me, "She can come; to give us information, to fight, and anything else she can come up with", Thorin told the other dwarves. Then they all walked into the dining room and Gandalf sighed relieved, leaning against the archway. "What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come", Balin asked Thorin as the dwarves at the table. "Aye. Envoys from all kingdoms", Thorin replies, "And what did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us", Dwalin asked. Thorin sighed unhappily and told him that, "They will not come." The rest of the dwarves sighed unhappily at that as well, "They say this is our quest and our quest alone", Thorin told them.

Bilbo looked at me and then to the dwarves confused, "You're going on a quest", he asked curiously, "Well, it's not like they're going shopping Bilbo", I joked and Bilbo turned to look at me, "I know that", he said flustered. Then the dwarves looked at us as if just realizing we were still in the room, "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have more light", Gandalf said and Bilbo nodded walking off. Gandalf gestured for me to come forward and I hesitated before doing so, and placed down a map on the table once I stood next to him. "Far to the east, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak", Gandalf said as Bilbo came forward with a candle in hand. "The Lonely Mountain", both Bilbo and I said reading the text on the map; look at the detail of the map, nothing like this compare to the maps I've seen in my time.

"It's beautiful", I said referring to the mountain, "It is", Thorin agreed as he and the rest of the dwrves looked longingly at the mountain on the map. "Aye and Oin has read the portents and the portents say, `it is time`", Gloin said, "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold, `When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end`", said Oin. Both Bilbo and I shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the `beast. `

"What beast", Bilbo asked nervously and Gandalf looked over, while smoking his pipe, "That would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age…airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals", Bofur said. Bilbo quickly said, "Yes, I know what a dragon is." "A dragon", I exclaimed and looked over to Gandalf, "You never mentioned any dragons", "Well, I couldn't say `join me on an adventure, by the way there will be dragons`, you would've never agreed or thought me mad. Like you are now", Gandalf told and I shook my head, "Unbelievable", I whispered.

"I'm not afraid, I'm up for it", Ori said standing up, "I'll protect everyone from the dragon, even you miss; I'll give him a taste of dwarfish iron right up his jacksie", the Dori grabbed his brother's shoulder and sat him back down, "Good lad, Ori", Nori said commending his brother. "The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us", Balin said, "but we number at thirteen and not thirteen of the best…or brightest." "Here, who are you calling dim", Nori questioned feeling insulted, "Sorry, what did he say", Oin said holding a horn to his ear.

"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf", Fili said raising his mug and then taking a swig. All the dwarves cheered at that, "And you forget, we have a wizard in our company", Kili said, "Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time", he said excitedly, looking to Gandalf who instantly became flustered. "Oh well, I…I um", Gandalf said, "Yes, Gandalf…tell us…how many have you killed", I said giving him a hard time, that I thought was well deserved. "What", Gandalf asked me, "How many", Dori asked this time and Gandalf looked to him as the rest of the dwarves looked to Gandalf, waiting for his answer. As Gandalf was put on the spot, he coughed on his smoke embarrassed, "Well, go on and give us a number", Dori said getting impatient. Then the rest of the dwarves stood up all at once, then started shouting and arguing to one another, "Wait, wait…um-"then Thorin stood and shouted something in a language I've never heard of before, cutting Bilbo off.

All the dwarves sat down instinctively and looked to Thorin, "If we had these signs, do you not think others will have read them too", Thorin asked his fellow dwarves and he continued, "Rumors have begun to spread, the dragon, smaug, has not been seen…and that vision you had happened happened sixty years ago", Thorin glancing at me and then back at the dwarves. "Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing…wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected…do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor", Thorin finished, the dwarves raised their mugs and cheered in…dwarfish?

"You forget the front gate is sealed", Balin interrupted, "There is no way into the mountain." "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true", said Gandalf, pulling a golden key out of his sleeve like a magician or a `wizard`. Everyone paused, looking at the key awestruck, it was the key to Erebor; "How come you by this", Thorin asked Gandalf while staring at the key. "It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safe keeping…it is your now", Gandalf replied handing the key over to Thorin.

Everyone remained silent as he examined the key, "If there is a key…there must be a door", I heard Fili say then I shook my head, and I gave an unlady-like snort; Bilbo looked at me in surprise when I did this and then I chuckled. "Thank you, captain obvious", I said to Fili, who just shrugged, "You never know", he told me. Gandalf nodded then pointed with his pipe to the map and said, "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the Lower Hill", "There's another way in", Kili said happily. "Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed, said Gandalf said looking at the group of dwarves and then back at the map, "The answer lies hidden in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. However, there are others in Middle-Earth that can. The task I have in mind will requires a great deal of stealth, sense, and no small amount of courage."

Gandalf then looked to Bilbo and I before addressing Thorin again, "But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done." "That's why we need a burglar, but why do we need her", Ori questioned and Gandalf gave him a gentle smile before answering, "She's able to sense things those of us cannot." The he turned to look at me as he continued, "Here your abilities would have strengthed, you may even borrow skills from the others if you wished to, and see others memories but only if it's connected to emotion", Gandalf explained and everyone of nodded in understanding, "I'm not going to do that, I rather use my own abilities", I told him and the dwarves looked at me with respect.

"You would need a good one, a burglar I mean, and an expert I'd imagine", Bilbo said suddenly, "And are you", Gloin asked. Bilbo looked around, then at me confused and I shook my head, "He's not talking to me", I told him. "Am I what", Bilbo asked Gloin to which Oin exclaimed happily, "He said he's an expert! Hey-hey", he still had that horn planted in his ear, but it seemed to not be helping him much. "Me? No,no,no,no,no,no; I'm not a burglar, I've never stolen a thing in my life", Bilbo said anxiously, "I can teach you", I said to him surprising myself and he looked at me startled. "Well, I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material, but you'd make an excellent replacement", Balin told me and I shook my head. "No, I don't steal anymore...I did that when I was young and stupid-"." How old were you", Balin asked me and glanced over to him sadly. "Sixteen", I answered and everyone gave me shocked expressions, "I was rebellious, hanging out with the wrong crowd, and that's how I got into stealing", I remembered I got a full scale of wings tattooed onto my back.

"What happened", Gandalf asked concerned seeing the look on my face, after I was silent for a moment I answered, "As young as we were, we weren't allowed to drink but we did anyways and we didn't care. I stole, I threatened, I did drugs…when I was older, and I decided to leave all that behind. I even got a tattoo on my back to celebrate my freedom from it and kept it as a promise to protect others. However, all those years of breaking the law…the damage was already done and I had a criminal record…granted the authority didn't know who I was and I was good at keeping that hidden. I've stolen precious jewels, jewery, and information, then sold it all to the highest bidder…I wanted to retire from all that and get a real job…where I could help others. Except my old employers didn't respond well to that and after skipping a few fifty of their messages they decided to give me a warning. Not much of a warning if they kill your entire family…my mother, father, brother, and sister were slaughtered…it was covered up as an accident however. There a man who I came to trust, but was soon was driven crazy for his lust for power and money; before that I was swept away believing the lies he spun perfectly for me. Lies of adventure, wealth, and romance…soon he couldn't hide his ambition and selfishness any longer and showed me his true colors. He became a monster consumed by greed and then I found out that it was he who set out the order to kill my family as the new crime lord. He betrayed me, but soon in the end nothing could sway him…even when he was being burned alive in the midst of his money. The fire was accidental, he claimed he was searching for something and his screams echoed through the night air and I won't pretend that I didn't feel bad for him. When help finally arrived the screams were already gone and instead there was silence, then when I ran in to check on him even at the protest of the authorities I saw that he was dead. That's what happened and that's why I won't steal anymore", I finished my story and everyone looked at me speechless.

There were a selected few who gave me concerned looks, "Sorry, I didn't mean to tell you an entire story on why I don't steal anymore", I told them and they quickly said that it was alright. Thorin kept silent as Bilbo said, "It's fine", to me then smiled comforting and I smiled back wiping a tear from my cheek. "There's still the concern of the hobbit, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves", Dwalin said and Kili protested saying, "He's just fine." Then the rest of the dwarves talked amongst themselves on how useless Bilbo would be on the quest and this made me very angry as I stood and yelled, "Enough", then the whole room shook and I looked around surprised.

Then a looming shadow fell over the entire room as Gandalf stood and yelled, his voice like thunder, "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is", then he sat calmly. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet, in fact they can pass unseen by most, if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf and species of men…the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him; which gives us a distinct advantage", Gandalf told the dwarves. Bilbo looked very uncomfortable having been put on the spot, "You asked me to find our fourteenth and fifteenth members of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins and Miss Short. There's clearly a lot more to them then their appearance suggest, and Bilbo's got a lot more to offer than any of you know. They both do, they just need to find it within themselves", Gandalf said looking at both Bilbo and I.

Thorin looked at Gandalf unsure, "You must trust me on this", Gandalf told him and then Thorin gave in, nodding to Gandalf, "Very well, we will do it your way. Give them the contract", Thorin said. Bilbo stood there shaking his head, "No,no,no,no,no,no", he said and I placed my hand on Bilbo's shoulder, "It's fine", I told him, repeating the same words he just said to me. "Somehow that's less reassuring then I imagined", Bilbo said and I noticed he said that honestly, then I laughed as his hand shot up to cover his mouth. "I didn't mean to be blunt", he told me worried, "It's fine, be as blunt as you like. Besides, that's how I am most of the time and thank you", I said to Bilbo who looked at me confused and I grabbed the contract from Balin.

I read it quietly as Bilbo read it aloud looking over my shoulder, ""Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one-fifteenth of total profit, if any" seems fair", he said and I chuckled as we continued reading, ""Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by…or sustained as a consequence there of, including, but not limited to lacerations…"the paper was folded sideways onto the contract and Bilbo unfolded it as I placed the contract more between us, ""evisceration?...Incineration?"" Bilbo then looked at the dwarves looking like he cannot believe what he just read, and Bofur nodded, "Aye, he'll melt the flesh right off your bones in a blink of an eye", he said and I heard Bilbo whimper beside me. "Bofur", I said warning him and he looked at me, "Not helping", I stated annoyed and then I saw a mischievous glint in his eye as he stood up.

"You alright laddie", Balin asked concerned, "Huh, yeah", Bilbo replied his face pale, he was clearly not. "You need air, try taking deep breaths", I told him worried, and then he tried doing what I said. "Not helping", he told me, "You're thinking too much try clearing your head" I told him, "Think furnace with wings", Bofur said, "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof…you're nothing more than a pile of ash", Bofur said, clearly trying to mess with Bilbo. I glared at Bofur annoyed, "Seriously, not helping", I said standing near Bilbo, ready to catch him if he fainted.

"Are you okay", I asked him and Bilbo looked relieved for a moment before he said, "Nope", and fell backwards, I quickly grabbed one his overall straps to keep him from falling. "Just drop him", said Bofur sitting down. "No! If I do that he'll bang his head on the floor and you were no help at all", I said struggling to hold on Bilbo's overall strap. Then all of a sudden a wooden staff appeared behind Bilbo and it pushed him onto me. I grunted as I struggled to keep Bilbo up, when his whole body weight fell on me and I was still able to stand but barely. Glaring at the obvious culprit that was Gandalf, I saw him smiling amused, "Gandalf", I said menacingly, "Why did you do that"," I thought it would be amusing and it is", he said then chuckled. The rest of the dwarves chuckled with him, except Thorin who just smiled amused.

"Okay", I sighed lifting Bilbo up to look at his face with some trouble and then I lightly patted his cheek, "Hey, hey wake up", then I shook him lightly. Bilbo still wouldn't wake up, "I'm not kissing you sleeping beauty", I said trying to plug his nose and I heard the dwarves choke on their drink when they heard that. "Oh calm down, it's only a story", I told them before turning my attention back to Bilbo. The staff pushed Bilbo back onto me again and this time his face landed on my neck, when I felt him breathe my whole face blushed and I yelled frantically, "Gandalf", he and the rest of the dwarves looked at me amused. "Get him off of me", I said angrily and blushing madly.

Then the whole room shook and this seemed to finally wake Bilbo as he looked up to say, "What happened…where am I", then I felt his cheek heat on my neck. "Well…you fainted, I managed to save you from falling on your head", as soon after I said this, Bilbo quickly backed away from me, his face a bright pink. "I need to sit down", Bilbo said walking away, "Right, I'll get you some tea", I said and Bilbo nodded walking down the hall into a room. After I brought him his tea and gave it to him, he took a sip, "Will you be alright", I asked him, while Gandalf stood in the doorway, "I'll be fine", Bilbo reassured me, "Just let me sit quietly for a moment."

Gandalf took this opportunity to walk into the room, "You've been sitting quietly for far too long", Gandalf said upset, talking to both Bilbo and I. "Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you", Gandalf asked Bilbo, "I remember a young hobbit who was always running off in search of elves in the woods. Who would stay out late, come after dark…trailing mud, twigs, and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the shire", Gandalf told Bilbo. "And you are no better", Gandalf said looking to me, "Me", I questioned, "Yes, do you think I would've chosen anyone to take out of time? No, I chose you because you not only had the skills we needed, not because you were depressed and you needed it, not because you seemed like a woman who was out of place in time, but because you care…you care so much that you would have done anything for the last thing you had of your family…even at the word of a stranger and the possibility of getting lost. You can still have all those things here: your adventure, wealth, and even romance; you can have a fresh start here", Gandalf told me and I looked down, thinking about it.

"The world is not in books or maps…it's out there", Gandalf said to both of us gesturing out the window, in Bilbo's office. "We can't just go running off into the blue, I am a Baggins of Bag-End and she is my guest that you entrusted upon me", Bilbo told Gandalf. "You are also a Took and you can take her with you", Gandalf said, "Okay again literally, in the same room", I told both men, who seemed to have ignored me. "Did you know your great-great-great-great uncle Bullroarer Took was so large, he could ride a real horse", Gandalf told him and Bilbo said, "Yes", like he heard that plenty of time before. "Yes, well he could. In the battle of green fields, he charged the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard it knocked the goblin king's head clean off and it sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole. And thus, the battle was won and the game of golf invented at the same time", Gandalf said chuckling glancing over to me then to Bilbo.

During the story I sat down, Gandalf frowned when he saw me in the chair and sat at the window. "I do believe you made that up", Bilbo said amused to Gandalf. "Well, all good stories deserve embellishment and you both will have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back", Gandalf told us both and smiled. Bilbo sighed and asked, "Can you promise we will come back", `if` we come back, I thought. Gandalf hesitated before answering, "No and if you both do…neither of you will be the same, "That's what I thought", Bilbo said setting down his mug and standing up. "Sorry Gandalf, I can't sign this", Bilbo said referring to the contract, "Bilbo" I said gently confused and he simply shook his head. "I'm sorry", he told me before turning and walking away, "You've got the wrong hobbit", and then I stood up following Bilbo out the door as he went down the hall. "Will you at least think about it", I called and I watched as Bilbo paused for a moment before walking into a room.

"It seems we have lost our burglar", I heard Balin say beside me, outside of the doorway, "He just needs a little time to think, he'll come around", I told him. Thorin, who stood across from Balin with his arms crossed, looked to me then back to Balin. "Probably for the best, we've still got you although you're an empathic thief", Balin told me, "I'm not a thief, I can still teach Bilbo", I told Balin, "You can't teach someone if they don't want to learn lass", Thorin told me. "What do you guys do", I asked suddenly curious, "Oh, what are we…merchants, miners, tinkers, toymakers…hardly the stuff of legend", Balin told me. "There are a few warriors amongst us", Thorin said looking at me then to Balin, "Old warriors", Balin corrected. "I would take each and every one of these dwarves and this shrunken daughter of man, over any army from the Iron Hills, for when I called upon them they answered and she stayed. Loyalty, honor, and a willing heart I can ask for no more that that", Thorin told us smiling.

"You don't have to do this", Balin told us both, "You have a choice, you've done honorably by our people and you can live out your own life, this quest could be the death of you", Balin told the last part to me. "I'll be fine, I want to come", I reassured Balin patting him on the shoulder and he sighed. The he turned his attention to Thorin, "You've built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains, a life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor", Balin told Thorin. "From my grandfather, to my father, this has come to me", Thorin said holding up the golden key to Erebor, "They dreamt of the day when dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin…not for me", Thorin said looking at me and Balin sighed.

"I already said I'm going, I'm going to sign the contract right now and prove that I am committed", I told them walking into Bilbo's office, there was a jar of ink with a feather already placed into it. The, taking the feather out of the inkwell, I signed my sloppy cursive handwriting at the bottom of the contract, on the line and then I placed the feather to the side. Then I heard humming coming from the living room and saw Bilbo at the doorway. Seeing that I had signed the contract, he quickly grabbed his mug and was about to walk away before I grabbed his arm. After realizing what I did, I quickly let go of his arm, "please sign it…I don't want to be the only burglar", I asked Bilbo and he sighed turning around to look at me. "What about the danger", he asked me, "Think about the adventure, what we'll say when we get back, "You think we'll come back", he asked me, "I think that's a great possibility", I said shrugging.

"The adventure…" Bilbo said quietly and then he quickly wrote his signature on the contract and I smiled happily as he did so, I was glad he was going as well. "I'm going to be, the guest bedroom is down the hall to the left", Bilbo told me, before grabbing his mug again and left, "Alright, goodnight", I called, "Goodnight", I heard Bilbo call back. The humming was still going as I went to the guest bedroom to sleep, then I heard slow mellow singning coming from the dwarves:

Far over the misty mountains cold,

To dungeons deep and caverns old.

We must away

'Ere break of day

To find our long-forgotten gold

The pines were roaring on the height,"

The winds were moaning in the night.

The fire was red

It's flaming spread,

The trees like torches blazed with light…"

I slowly went to sleep as the dwarves kept singing, it was like a dark lullaby singing in my mind as I fell into the world of dreams. The song itself caused me to have a nightmare of fire, caves, and gold. Then I was jolted awake by a few taps on the shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

(The story belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson.)

When I woke, I saw Gandalf, "Really", I questioned annoyed, then I stretched and yawned. He chuckled and said, "Yes and I took it upon myself to get Bilbo's clothes and get them fitted for you. It's on the pony, "A pony", I questioned, "And why did you take Bilbo's clothes and fit them to me?" "You can't go around dressed the way you are, clothes from your time won't be accepted here. I already placed an outfit on the chair over there, hurry and get decent", Gandalf told me pointing to a dark blue seat with white lilies stitched into it, then walked out of the bedroom closing the door behind him.

I was annoyed not only because Gandalf scared me awake, but he also picked out my outfit as if I were a child and the fact that he specifically took Bilbo's clothes, I bet he thought it would be funny to see the look on Bilbo's face once he saw me in his clothes. Is he bored? Does Gandalf have nothing better to do than to torment me? Then I sighed having no other choice, but to slip into Bilbo's clothing that were fitted to me…honestly this was getting to the point of being annoying, I thought.

Once I was dressed, I left the guest room and went straight to Bilbo's office and wrote him a letter since I didn't know where his bedroom was, but I knew he would catch up to us once he woke up. I wrote: "Bilbo, Sorry to be so informal, but I have to write this quick. I have a feeling Gandalf wants us to leave now, the show everyone your willing to go. He's probably going to make you run after us. Anyway, by the time you read this we'll already be gone and this is a friendly reminder. I would wait, but Gandalf isn't going let me have the chance. So, I'll leave the contract on the desk, just make sure to pick it up when you come after us. See you soon. Liliana Short."

After placing the letter right next to the contract on his desk, Gandalf dragged me out the door. The `pony` Gandalf presented was still a little too big for me to get on. After a few attempts, I sighed frustrated and then I heard a chuckle behind me, "Here let me help you little sister", Fili said to and helped me onto my pony. "Uh, thanks", I said awkwardly before he smiled kindly at me before walking away and then left to get on his pony. "Just needed time to think, eh", Thorin asked me grumpily before walking past me to get on his horse as well as did the other dwarves.

We had rode a few ways away from the shire and the dwarves and Gandalf made their bets on whether or not Bilbo would show up, "What about you lass? Are you betting", Bofur asked me, "I don't need to", I said. "What? You know something we don't", asked Dwalin, "I know he's going to show, so I don't need to bet", I said and all the dwarves seemed to be considering what I said, since gold was on the line, but at the end they all stuck to their bets. That's when we all heard yelling coming from a distance behind us, looking back I saw it was Bilbo and smiled.

"Whoa, whoa", I said halting my horse to wait for Bilbo as did the other dwarves and Gandalf. "I had it already signed", said Bilbo, walking over to Balin and handing him the contract we waited patiently as Balin checked the contract, "Everything seem s to be in order, welcome Mr. Baggins and Miss Short to the company of Thorin Oakenshield", Balin said making it official. Everyone chucked as Thorin said grumpily, "Put him on Miss short's pony." The suddenly Bilbo turned nervous, "What? No, no, no, that um…won't be necessary. Thanks, but I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. Even got as far as Frog Morton once. Ah", Bilbo suddenly cried out as both Fili and Kili hoisted him up and placed him behind me.

As we rode along, Bilbo asked, "W-why do I have to ride behind her and….are those my clothes", Bilbo questioned me. "You checking me out back there", I teased, looking back at him I noticed he was blushing, "W-what?!...I-I- no…that is-I mean….they look like my clothes. Maybe they're not because they fit you well…I mean…no, no, no I…oh dear", Bilbo said covering his face embarrassed. "I'm only teasing", I told him as I laughed lightly as he removed his hands, and his face bright pink and looked away upset.

Looking ahead again, I noticed that the dwarves paid us no mind as they exchanged bags filled with gold, "Come on, pay up", Oin yelled, "One more", Kili yelled as well and Dori threw them their bags of gold. Gandalf came up to ride beside us, "What's that about", Bilbo asked, "Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet that you wouldn't, while Miss Short didn't bet at all", Gandalf replied. "Why didn't she", Bilbo asked, "because I knew you'd come", I replied, "What did you think", Bilbo asked, "Well…" Gandalf paused for dramatic effect then quickly threw up his hand to catch the bag of gold. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second", Gandalf told Bilbo, then Bilbo sneezed, "Oh, this horse hair…having a reaction", he said as he squirmed behind me, looking back I saw he was searching his pockets for something.

"No, wait, wait, stop, stop, we have to turn around", Bilbo said leaning forward to grab the ponies reign and pulled, making the pony stop. "Sorry", Bilbo said beside my ear before sitting back, "What on earth is the matter", Gandalf asked, "I forgot my handkerchief", Bilbo replied. Then I checked the pockets of the jacket I wore and found a neatly folded handkerchief within, with the initials `B.B. ` stitched into it and handed it to Bilbo. "Is this it", I asked, "It was in this jacket", I said gesturing to Bilbo's jacket that I wore, "Ah, yes where did you find it", Bilbo asked me, "it was in this jacket", I replied. "Oh, I forgot I left it in there, thank you…but why are you wearing my clothes", Bilbo asked me, "Gandalf said I couldn't wear my own clothes because it's "dangerous" to wear. I'd probably stand out more in my clothes, then in men's clothes honestly", I told him and he seemed to understand as I turned around and led the pony forward.

When I heard the dwarves whispering to each other like old housewives and I narrowed my eyes at Gandalf as he chuckled amused. "You can have that pocket handkerchief for now, but you'll have to manage to live without the simple things, Bilbo Baggins and Liliana Short. Before we reach our journey's end; you, Bilbo, were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the shire. You, Liliana, were born in a place where things, even here, seem impossible; you've both lived alone for years, not experiencing anything outside. But home is now behind the both of you, the world is ahead."

We traveled great distances through forests and fields, then finally we camped. I tried to sleep, but it was difficult with Bombur snoring loudly, like a truck engine, not too far from me. Finding that Couldn't sleep, I drew myself closer to the fire as I saw Bilbo stand up, walk over to one of the ponies, and gave them an apple. I smiled at the gesture as Bilbo gave our horse, Myrtle, and apple; after traveling for so long we decided to name our horses and we agreed on the name, even when I kept calling `my turtle` as a joke. This made Bilbo sigh at me every time I called her that and I laughed it off.

Then a horrid screaming-growling noise, I've never heard before, echoed through the night and at a distance, which I was thankful for. "What was that", Bilbo asked worried, pointing to where the noise came from, "Orcs", Kili answered ominously, "What", I asked confused turning my head to look at Kili. "Orcs", Bilbo said with panic evident in his voice as he quickly walked over by the fire, Thorin seemed to jolt awake when he heard the name. "Throat cutters, there'll be dozens of them out there. The low-lands are crawling with them", Fili added to the creepiness, "They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams…just lots of blood", Kili finished and my heart was pounding so hard, I thought it'd burst through my chest.

"Maybe you should sit down", I told Bilbo who looked to where the noise came from, then nodded before sitting by the fire. I was terrified and worried about the others in the company, I knew they were warriors and a wizard…and could possibly handle themselves, but I was still frightened. So you could imagine my reaction when I heard the two young brothers laughing, "You think that's funny", I suddenly heard Thorin say as he stood up to look at his nephews (I learned from Balin that Kili, Fili, and Thorin were related as uncle and nephews) and they looked down guiltily. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke", Thorin said upset, "We didn't mean anything by it", Kili said, "No, you didn't…you know nothing of the world", Thorin said bitterly and walked off to the edge of the cliff of where we camped.

"Don't mind him, laddie", Balin said coming up to stand by the camp fire as he spoke to Kili, "Thorin has more cause then most to hate orcs", a picture of grandfather dwarf's head rolling down to my feet came then yelling in anguish, came to my mind. Looking over to Thorin, I felt his emotions roll off of him in waves as Balin started the story, "After the dragon took the lonely mountain…King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria, but our enemy had got there first", dwarves and orcs fighting outside a dwarf kingdom came to my mind, "Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler", then a large, pale, and menacing looking creature or orc came to mind as it smiled disgustingly.

"The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin, he began…by beheading the King", Balin said sorrowfully and a picture of Azog holding up the dwarf king's, Thorin's grandfather's, head in victory and then threw it toward a young Thorin. Thorin looked at his grandfather's head in distraught and yelled in anguish before looking back at Azog in fury, "Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven by grief…he went missing…taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless…defeat and death…were upon us", tears rolled down my cheeks as I had a vision of orcs throwing dwarves over a cliff. "That is when I saw him", a picture of Thorin came to my mind as a glimmer of hope as the sun radiated off him and he stood amongst the dead dwarves around him and then I realized I was sensing Balin's memory. "A young dwarf prince, facing down the pale orc", Thorin came to my mind again only this time he was fighting Azog, the orc hit Thorin's shield with its mace and it was tossed in the midst of dwarves and orcs.

"He stood against the terrible foe", the orc slammed his mace onto Thorin again and this time he was thrown to the ground, with his sword lost, Thorin quickly picked up a large oak log and blocked a blow from the orc. "His armor rent…wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield", hit after hit Thorin managed to block every hit the pale orc threw at him. The he fell over and the orc was about to hit him again, when Thorin quickly picked up his sword on the ground; Thorin swung his arm up and cut the orcs hand clean off. "Azog learned that day…the line of Durn would not be so easily broken",then the army of dwarves came to my mind as Thorin lead them as they charged at the army of orcs. "Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back…our enemy had been defeated, but there was no feast…" a picture of a small amount of dwarves standing amongst the dead dwarves and orcs came to mind, there was a feeling of anger and sorrow. "Nor song that night…for our dead were beyond the count of grief and we few had survived", a picture came to my mind of a young Balin hugging his brother Dwalin in sadness and lost. "And I thought to myself then, there is one I could foillow…there is one I could call king", as Balin finished a vision of Thorin basking in the sunlight came to my mind and I felt a feeling of hope and courage coming from Balin.

Then I felt myself `wake up` and looked over to Thorin and I noticed that the dwarves of our company stood before him with a new form of respect and loyalty for him. Thorin nodded and walked forward, "And the pale orc…what happened to him" Bilbo asked Balin curiously, to which Thorin answered in anger and annoyance, "He slunck back to the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." As Thorin walked past I wiped my eyes, noticing I had tears on my cheeks and this action was caught by Bilbo, "Are you alright Liliana", he asked me, "I'm fine…empathy remember, I felt every emotion in that story…as well as saw it", I whispered the last part to Bilbo who gave me a confused look before nodding.

The next morning, we traveled by ponies again except Gandalf who rode a horse and this time I rode Myrtle, while sitting behind Bilbo. With nowhere to place my hands, I had my hands holding Bilbo right above his waist in fear that I would fall off and he seemed to blush at that as we rode along; he didn't say anything which I was grateful for because this was a little awkward. After riding for a while, it began to rain and then finally poured, "I hate rain", I said grumpily and Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Gandalf chuckled at that. "Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you or Miss Lilly do something about this deluge", Dori asked, "It is raining, master dwarf…and it will continue to rain until the rain is done", Gandalf replied, "And what do you think I can do? I'm empathic…not elemental", I told Dori. "If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard", Gandalf said, then shook his head.

"Are there any other wizards? Besides Liliana", Bilbo asked and I shook my head at his question, "There are five of us, the greatest of our order is Saruman the White, then there are the two blue wizards…you know I have quite forgotten their names", Gandalf replied. "Who's is the fifth", Bilbo asked curiously, "Well, that would be Randagast the Brown", Gandalf replied to which Bilbo asked, "Is he a great wizard or is he more like you", Bilbo asked Gandalf who looked at Bilbo jokingly shocked. "I think he a great wizard…in his own way, he's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps watchful eyes over the vast forestlands to the east. A good thing to, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world", Gandalf told him.

"Speaking of names, if you join the wizard order…I suggest Lily or Liliana the Purple or Yellow", Gandalf told me, "Why", I asked, "The color purple matches your personality and your jacket, while yellow matches your hair and eyes", Gandalf told me which in turn I replied, "My eyes are hazel." "Not now…now there yellow…and now there green", Gandalf said looking curiously at my eyes, then I sighed annoyed and looked away.

After a while, we rode up to what looked like a ruined human cottage, "We'll camp here for the night", Thorin told us as we all got off our ponies. After Bilbo got off first, then offered to help me, not wanting to seem rude I accepted. When I went to check out the cottage I felt a great deal of sadness, fear, and panic as a vision came to me, a vision of a mother and daughter burning then a father rushing in to save them and then they died before they could get out. I felt it all, the smoke consumed my lungs as I held a small child, feeling love as I saw my husband rush in, panic as the roof collapsed and we couldn't escape, pain as I was burned alive, and then nothing. I `woke up` as tears rolled down my cheeks and I quickly exited out of the cottage, not wanting to feel anything more from it.

"A farmer and his family used to live here..." Gandalf said and looked at me sadly, knowing I saw what happened there, "Oin and Gloin, get a fire going", Thorin said to which I told Gandalf quietly, "Gandalf they can't start a fire here…we have to keep moving." "I agree, these beings don't want us here", Gandalf told me as Thorin walked up to him, "I think it would be wiser to move on, we could make for the Hidden Valley", Gandlaf told Thorin. Thorin looked at Gandalf upset, angry, and insulted, "I told you already…" Thorin said and then paused looking at me. Holding my hands up in surrender, I walked away, "Okay, okay, I'm leaving", I told him and made my way over to the other dwarves and Bilbo.

I went over to pet Myrtle or `My turtle`, soon Gandalf passed me in anger, "Everything alright? Gandalf? Where are you going", Bilbo asked. "To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense", Gandalf said annoyed as he continued walking away fuming, "Who's that", Bilbo asked curiously to which Gandalf replied furiously, "Myself Mr. Baggins." Then Bilbo looked at me confused, "Don't ask me, ask Mr. grumpy pants over there", I said referring to Thorin and gestured over to the cottage. When I saw he wasn't there, I looked around confused and froze when I heard a cough behind; as I slowly turned around I saw Thorin standing right there as he crossed his arms and gave me an annoyed look before walking away.

Later that night, Bilbo walked around nervously because Gandalf hadn't returned yet and soup was being made, "What's wrong Bilbo", I asked him, "His been gone a long time", Bilbo replied referring to Gandalf. "Who", Bofur asked confused as he stirred the soup, "Gandalf", Bilbo stated and Bofur shrugged, not even worried as he said, "he's a wizard, he does as he chooses…just as this lass here", Bofur said gesturing to me. Looking at like he was crazy, I said, "Um…I hate to break it to you, but…I'm not a wizard", "See here Lass, you have abilities that none of could ever do…you're a wizard to me, even if you think you are not", Bofur told me and I kept silent.

"Here, do us a favor…take these to the lads", bofur asked Bilbo and I, handing us bowls filled with soup. As we were walking away, I saw Bombur trying to get himself another serving and Bofur swiped the spoon from him before he could. "Enough you had plenty", Bofur told his brother, "Aye, it's not's a bad stew Bombur…I've had worse", Gloin said in the distance, "Dori could've cooked it", Nori joked, "Hilarious", Dori said sarcastically. As we approached Fili and Kili to hand the bowls to them, we noticed that they stared at the horses with worried expressions. "What's the matter", Bilbo asked and Fili sighed, "We were supposed to be looking after the ponies", Kili said, "So what happened", I asked, "We've encountered a slight problem", Fili replied as Kili sighed and ran his hand through his hair stressed out. "We had sixteen", Kili said and Fili added, "Now there's fourteen."

Bilbo and I decided to count each pony again as the brothers named each one as they followed us and concluded that there were indeed two missing, "Daisy and Bungo are missing", Kili said. "Well, that's not good and that is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin", Bilbo asked as we approached and are of trees that have been knocked down, moved to the side, and crushed. "We…um…probably should, I mean look at that", I said agreeing with Bilbo, nervously gesturing to large mess of knocked down trees. "Uh, no let's not worry him…as our official burglars we thought you might look into it", Fili told us and I simply shook my head as Bilbo said, "Well, uh…look something big uprooted these trees, "That was our thinking", Kili agreed. "It's something big and possibly dangerous", Bilbo said examining the roots that were raised to the surface and I stared wid0eyed in shock at the sight.

Then we heard a loud crunch in the distance and we all ducked, hopefully we were unseen I thought. "Oi, there's a light over there", Fili said and gestured for his brother to follow. I sighed, as we carried the bowls with us Bilbo and I soon followed after them to take a closer look. "Stay down", Kili said and pushed our heads down so that we were unseen by the large creature and I scrunched up my nose disgusted, the creature smelt foul. "What is it" Bilbo asked, "Trolls", Kili answered with anger evident in his voice and both brothers stood up to quickly sneak forward. Putting my bowl down I went after Fili and Kili then looked around for Bilbo to see him running forward with both bowls in hand. I shook my head and chuckled as we chased after the brothers, then when I saw a troll walk past I quickly grabbed Bilbo so we could hide behind a tree, out of sight.

Looking around the tree, I gasped when I saw who the troll was carrying, "They have My turtle and Mentos", I whispered, "This is no time for jokes, he's got `Myrtle and Minty`", Bilbo told me. "I wasn't joking…I actually forgot their real names for a moment…sorry", I apologized and Bilbo quickly accepted my apology as if he had done the wrong doing. I chuckled at him, "It's fine Bilbo…besides I was in the wrong and…" I looked over to Fili and Kili who stared at us amused, "This is probably not the best time for this", I said awkwardly and he nodded noticing the brothers as well.

"I think they're going to eat the ponies…we have to do something", Bilbo said, both Fili and Kili nodded agreeing with him and seemed to forget what had just happened. "Yes, you both should", Kili said pushing us both forward, "Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're both so small, they'll never see you. You're partners in crime after all", Kili told us while Bilbo tried to refuse. "It's perfectly safe, we'll be behind you", Fili said grabbing the bowls from Bilbo. "If you run into trouble, Lily you hoot twice like a barn own and Bilbo you hoot once like a brown owl", Fili told us as we walked toward the troll's camp.

The brothers pushed us both forward to the direction of the trolls before they removed their hands, "Are you sure this is a good idea", Bilbo asked looking back then sighed. "They're gone", he told me, "What", I questioned looking back as well and they were indeed gone. "Mutton yesterday, mutton today", both Bilbo and I ducked as we heard a troll complain. "And blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow", the troll continued to complain as we snuck forward. "Quit your griping, these ain't sheep, these is fresh nags", the troll carrying our ponies said as it placed them into a pen. "Oh, I don't like horse, never have, not enough fat on them", the first troll said.

Bilbo and I ducked behind a bush and examined the situation, the four horses were in the pen, behind the trolls, and the pen was tied up with a giant rope all we had to do was figure out how to untie it. "Well, it's better than old farmer, all skin and bone he was. I'm still picking bits of him out of me teeth", the first troll said. Now we learned these trolls ate people as well…great; when the horses saw us they neighed at us warningly, moving forward again we quickly his behind a tree as the third troll sneezed. "Well, that's lovely that is…a floater, might even improve the flavor", the second troll said annoyed, as they were distracted we took this opportunity to sneak forward again and this time we boldly hid behind the first troll.

"Ah, there's more where that came from", the third troll said and went to hack up another booger, then the second troll grabbed the other's nose, "Oh no you don't, sit down", the first troll said as the third tried to pull away. Bilbo and I tried to undo the knot to the horse's pen as the trolls were distracted again, when the third troll looked over I quickly grabbed Bilbo to hide beside the pen and out of sight. "Well, I hope you're gonna gut these nags, I don't like the stinky parts", the third troll said drawing in close to the pen and I tried to keeping my breathing calm. Then the third troll yelped as the second troll ordered him to sit down.

"Oh, "thank you, Bert. Lovely stew Bert", how hard is that", the second troll complained or Bert did. "What's wrong", I asked Bilbo as I heard him breathe heavily, "I was almost caught…I'm going to try again", Bilbo whispered back as he slowly approached the third troll, going for its large sword…it was a large sword compared to us. The horses neighed worryingly at him as he approached the third troll and he shushed them, when he was about to grab the sword the troll quickly stood making Bilbo duck as it scratched it's butt. I held my mouth, trying not to giggle, as Bilbo made a disgusted look, "Oh, me gut's are grumbling, I got to snaffle something…flesh I need flesh", the first troll said as the third grabbed Bilbo along with a handkerchief and blew it's nose onto him as well as the handkerchief, after Bilbo attempted to grab the sword.

It was disgusting to see Bilbo covered in the troll's slimy snot, "Oh, blimey! Bert, Bert, look what's come out of me hooter", the third troll exclaimed in surprise, "It's got arms and legs and everything." "What is it", Bert questioned, "I don't know, but I don't like the way it wriggles around", the third troll replied and dropped Bilbo like he was a bug. I was about to come out of my hiding spot to help, when Bilbo gave me a signal to stay where I were when the trolls weren't looking. He watched them nervously as the first troll charged and pointed it's dagger at him, "What are you then? Some kind of oversized squirrel", the troll demanded from Bilbo.

"I'm a burglar-uh, hobbit", Bilbo answered quickly then corrected himself and the trolls looked at each other than to Bilbo confused. "A burglar-hobbit", the third troll questioned, "Can we cook him", the first troll asked Bert. He's going to get himself eaten I thought frantically and I ran forward instinctively nest to Bilbo, "No he's with me", I told the trolls looking just as surprised to see me as they saw Bilbo. "I signaled you to stay where you were", Bilbo told me and sighed, "Well, I wasn't about to stand around and let you get eaten", I told him. "What's this…a lady and she's tiny just like him", the first troll said, "Do you think she tastes sweet", the third troll said and I gave it a grossed out expression, "It doesn't matter, we're going to be cooking them the same way", Bert told the other trolls.

"We better run", I told Bilbo, "Good idea", he said and we ran but each troll blocked our means of escape, "They won't be more than a mouth full, once their skinned and boned", Bert told the other trolls. "Perhaps there's more of these burglar-hobbits around these parts, might be enough for a pie", the first troll said as it pushed us to the side. "Grab them", Bert shouted as they tried to catch us, "They're too quick", the third troll complained as we dodged the many hands that tried to grab us. "Right, come here you little…" the first troll said as it grabbed both Bilbo and I by the feet and holding us up in the air. My blood quickly rushed to my head and I felt dizzy as the first troll said, "Gotcha", in triumph. "Are there anymore of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't", the first troll said to Bilbo to which he replied with a sharp, "No", as he tried to set himself free.

Then the first troll threw me to Bert and pointed his sword to my throat, "Let's try this again…are there any more of you", the first troll asked Bilbo who gulped when he saw me. `Don't tell them`, I worded to Bilbo who continued to look at me in fear. "Try pointing it to the male", Bert told the first troll who then smirked and pointed the sword at Bilbo, making me glare at the troll in anger. "Hold his toes over the fire, make him squeal", the third troll said cruelly making me yell, "Let him go!" "She's getting hot", Bert complained, "Or what", the first troll asked me.

Then Kili came out of nowhere and slashed his sword at the ankles of the third troll making it fall in agony, "Drop them", he ordered and I felt myself cool down. "You what", the first troll demanded confused, "I said, `drop them`", Kili told them pointing his sword at the trolls. Then we were thrown at Kili, Bilbo landed on Kili and I landed on Bilbo, yelling out in anger the group of dwarves charged out of the forest and fought the trolls. "Sacks, get the sacks, put them in the sacks", the first troll ordered as Bilbo and I got out of the way, Bilbo picked up the troll's sword and proceeded to free the horses as I picked up a rusted knife and stabbed the first trolls foot before it could grab Bilbo.

Bilbo used the troll's sword to cut through the tightly woven rope that was tied to the pen and opened it letting the horses free. I smiled, but it soon faded when the first troll picked up both Bilbo and I to show us to the dwarves. When Thorin turned to look at us concerned, both Fili and Kili tried to charge forward and yelled out for our names but Thorin stopped them. All the dwarves were looking at us now as the troll slowly crushed us, "Lay down your arms…or I'll crush them to death", the first troll sneered at the dwarves. I looked down at them as I was slowly being crushed and squirmed a little uncomfortably, then it was getting harder to breathe as I tried to breathe. About to pass out I saw Thorin throw down his weapon as did the other dwarves soon after, then the trolls placed us all into sacks and put us to the side.

The leanest were put onto a stick and were being roasted over the fire, while the rest of us sat to the side and waited to be cooked. Now, I'm not saying I wasn't lean…but I did have more curves then most women in my time. Bert spun the stick around, cooking the dwarves and I sat there trying to ignore what was happening to our friends. "Untie me mister", I heard Bombur yell beside me, "Eat someone your own size", Gloin yelled as well, then I remembered I stashed the rusted knife in my pocket before I was placed inside the sack. Slowly reaching into my pocket and grabbing the knife, I stabbed the side of my sack making sure I didn't stab Bombur and started to slowly cut through it, which was difficult to do with a rusted knife.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake", Bilbo yelled suddenly, "You can't reason with them they're halfwits", Dori yelled, "Halfwits?! And what does that make us", Bofur yelled as Bilbo stood up to face the trolls. For some reason I couldn't feel anything coming from him as he stood there obviously nervous, however I knew he had an idea. Sill in his sack, he hopped over to the troll's camp fire, where they were cooking our friends, "I meant with the seasoning….well have you smelt them? You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up", Bilbo said and I heard Bombur yell, "Traitor!" "What do you know about cooking dwarf or that girl for that matter", the first troll questioned, "Shut up! Let the burglar-hobbit talk", Bert said bending and looking down at Bilbo.

Bilbo nodded, being falsely polite as he answered, "The secret to cooking dwarf and the woman is…it um…" Bilbo paused for moment thinking, "Yes? Come on, tell us the secret", Bert said over eager for the secret. "I'm telling you the secret…it's uh…yes it's…the secret is…to…skin them first", Bilbo answered and then blushed while I gaped at him, oh no. Then all the dwarves yelled, "What?! Skin us", Dori yelled, then they all looked disgusted at Bilbo. "Tom, get me filleting knife", Bert told the third troll who nodded and left to get it, "And what about the girl", Bert asked, "Pardon", Bilbo said confused, "How do you cook the girl", Bert asked more clearly. "Bilbo nodded understanding what he meant that time and said, "Oh, um…I would just wing it…I don't know how to make a special lady dish, but um…I hope to learn", Bilbo said and I blushed knowing what he meant, even if the dwarves did not. "You're sick, sick! I'll skin you, you little-"Gloin yelled at Bilbo disgusted and Bilbo sighed. "I won't forget that, I won't forget that", I heard Dwalin yell as well.

"What a loud of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on, scarf them I say…boots and all", the first troll said unbelievingly. I was still having trouble in cutting the sack I was in, I barely managed to cut half way down before the knife broke and I sighed frustratingly. Then I saw Gandalf run past behind the large boulder in front of us, as it blocked the sun. "He's right, nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf", the third troll said and came over to us, picking up Bombur and hovering him over his mouth. "Nice and crunchy", the third troll said and Bombur whimpered as he was lowered down, "Stop", I shouted, "Yes put him down, you don't want to eat that one…he's infected", Bilbo yelled, "You what", the first troll said unbelievingly.

"Yeah, his got worms in his…tubes", Bilbo told the troll who made a disgusted noise and flung the dwarf so that he landed on Kili and Oin. "In fact they all have, they're infested with parasites…even the woman being near them and all", Bilbo said and I couldn't help but feel a little insulted, however I was sure he said that to protect us. "Its terrible business, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't", Bilbo said and the whole dwarf lot shouted as they felt insulted as well, "Parasites? Did he say `parasites`", Oin asked Kili angrily and Kili nodded. "We don't have parasites, you have parasites", Kili shouted, "What are you talking about laddie", Oin said confused and then Thorin kicked Kili, who grunted and looked up at Thorin confused then looked back to Bilbo understandingly.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm", Oin said, "Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites", Kili told the trolls. I shook my head and sighed as the dwarves told the trolls how big their parasites were, then Bert walked up to me, "What about you girl…do you have anything to say about yourself", the troll asked me. I smiled wickedly up at the troll, "Why yes I do, as you may know we all have parasites…the same kind, however the over exaggerated its size for its power. They're flesh eating parasites, they don't eat the host as you can see, but they do eat those that eat the host", I told Bert who gulped in fear. "How do I know this is true", Bert asked me to which I replied with, "My sister was eaten by a troll…funny how irony plays in life sometimes", I said acting bitterly, "The troll gave us protection at night as long as we gave it the occasional cow, but soon we ran out…and as a warning the troll at my sister. However, he didn't expect us all to be infected with the flesh eating parasite…so it wasn't a surprise when we found its bones in its cave", I said finishing my tale.

The trolls didn't know what to make of me and frankly neither did the dwarves, the only one who gave me positive feedback was Bilbo who nodded in my direction. "We're riddled", Kili suddenly cried out, "Yes, I'm riddled", Ori yelled out as well. "What would you have us do then? Let them all go", the first troll questioned Bilbo, who looked up sheepishly. "Well..." Bilbo said, "It wouldn't hurt", I finished, "You think I don't know what you're both up to? These little ferrets…is taking us for fools", the first troll said. "Ferret", both Bilbo and I said insulted, "Fools", Bert questioned, "The dawn will take you all", Gandalf bellowed on top of the large boulder with his staff raised.

"Who's that" the first troll asked looking at Gandalf, "No idea", Bert replied, "Can we eat him too", the third troll asked as Gandalf slammed his staff down onto the boulder causing it to split in half, allowing the morning sun to pour through and petrify the trolls. My eyes widened in shock as I watched the trolls turn to stone as the sun shined upon them and they tried shielding themselves. Gandalf came over and set us all free from the sacks and looked at me questioningly when he saw the tear and broken knife lying on the ground, "It broke before I could tear myself free", I told him and Gandalf chuckled.

Then Bilbo came up to me, "That was brilliant…telling that story…how did you come up with it", he asked me, "Oh…I just `winged it`", I said quoting Bilbo. "Oh look the love birds are talking, better give them room", Gandalf joked and pushed the dwarves away and I sighed annoyed. "Thanks for standing up…I was trying to cut myself free so I could stand up to them as well but my knife broke…but Bilbo that was very brave what you did", I said complementing Bilbo. "Anyone would've done it", Bilbo said modestly, "Yes, but they didn't", I told him.

"Bilbo and Lilliana, we need to search for the troll's cave nearby", Gandalf told us and we nodded as we helped search for the cave. After a while, Gandalf finally found the cave, "Oh, what's that stench", Nori complained as we walked in, "It's a troll hoard, be careful what you touch", Gandalf told us and I plugged my nose after taking a whiff of the air inside the cave, "Ew, it smells rancid in here…like something crawled in here and died…also smells like feces and urine", I complained. "Thanks for the description", Dori said sarcastically and I smiled apologetically to him.

"Seems a shame just to leave those lying around", Bofur said referring to two chests filled with gold, "Anyone could take it", "Agreed, Nori", Gloin said and Nori walked over to him, "Yeah", Nori asked, "Get a shovel", Gloin told him and Nori walked off to get a shovel so they could bury the two chests. "Hm, while you guys go through the treasure and whatever else…I'm going to wait outside…you know, in the fresh air", I said and proceeded to exit out of the cave. "Oh lass, the smell is good", Bofur said taking in a deep breath then coughed, "Makes you feel alive", I just chuckled and shook my head as I left. "I'll see you guys outside", I told them, "Alright, see you", I heard Bofur say as Bilbo walked up to me once I was out of the cave, "What's in there", he asked me curiously, "Gold, jewels, jewelry, and old weapons", I told him and I sighed angrily at myself. "What", Bilbo asked worried, "Weapons…I should've grabbed a dagger", I said, Bilbo just looked at the cave and scrunched up his nose, making me laugh.

Then, just as I said that, the dwarves came out of the cave with Gandalf following behind them and he walked up to us, "Bilbo and Liliana", Gandalf called as he walked up to us. "Hm", "Yes", both Bilbo and I said at the same time and turned to face him, "Here, this is about your size", Gandalf said and handed Bilbo a sword, "And here Liliana, since you favor daggers over swords", Gandalf said, handing us both silver blades covered in a sleeve. "I can't take this", Bilbo said as I took a look at my dagger, "The blade is of elfish make, which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby", Gandalf told us. "Like a warning, telling us not to go in that direction", I said admiring my dagger, "I have never used a sword in my life", Bilbo told Gandalf and I looked at Bilbo worried when he said that, putting my dagger away. "And I hope you never have to…either of you", Gandalf told us and smiled sadly, "And if you do, remember this: True courage is about knowing not when to take a life…but when to spare one", as Gandalf said this I felt myself listen to him for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3

(The story belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson.)

"Some one's coming", Thorin yelled, "Stay together, hurry now, arm yourselves", Gandalf yelled as well and we all drew our swords as the sound drew closer. Then all of a sudden a cart rode past us carrying a man who led the car with the help of giant…rabbits? "Thieves! Fire! Murder", the man in the brown cloak, a brown pointed hat, with hair that was greying and what looked like bird poop dripping on the side of his face. "Randagast", Gandalf said relieved, sheathing his sword, "Randagast the Brown, well…what on earth are you doing here", Gandalf said walking up to Randagast. "I was looking for you Gandalf…oh is that her? Miss short, quite literally it would seem", Randagast asked glancing at me then back to Gandalf.

"Yes, but not a full wizard...I believe she plans to stay at her current height for the time being. Now Randagast, why are you here", Gandalf asked his fellow wizard. "Something's wrong, something's terribly wrong", Randagast said, "Yes", Gandalf questioned as the brown wizard had trouble saying what he was thinking. Randagast was about to say something then paused, then he tried again but stopped again, he forgot about something, I thought. "Just give me a minute", Randagast said and we all waited semi-patiently, "Oh, I had the thought and now I've lost it…it was right there on the tip of my tongue…oh, it's not a thought at all…it's a silly old…stick insect", Randagast said as Gandalf pulled a stick insect from the brown wizard's moth and placed it on his hand. "Ew", I said disgusted and scrunched up my nose, "Indeed", Bilbo agreeing that the sight of an insect being pulled out of one's mouth was disgusting.

"I need to speak to you Gandalf…and shall we take Miss Short with us as well", Randagast asked, "We shall, Liliana", Gandalf called me and when I looked over, he gestured for me to come over. I looked at Bilbo, Kili, Fili, Bombur, and Bofur whom I was currently talking to confused, before walking over to join Gandalf and Randagast. "Come, you should hear what he has to say as well", Gandalf told me as I walked up beside him and looked up at Randagast. Looking between them confused, I asked, "Shouldn't only wizards be present for this, "You have magical ability, whether you like it or not you are a wizard…even if you are not part of our order. Now listen", Gandalf told me and I kept my mouth shut.

"The Greenwood is sick, a darkness has fallen over it…nothing grows anymore, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay, but worse are the webs", Randagast said, "Webs? What do you mean", Gandalf asked, "Spiders Gandalf, giant ones…some kind of spawn of Ungoliant or I'm not a wizard", Randagast said sounding disturbed as he spoke; I sighed, knowing our luck we even run into said spiders. "I followed their trail, they come from Dol Guldor", Randagast said and I had to ask, "What's that", "It is an old fortress, but it has long been abandoned", Gandalf answered my question. Randagast just shook his head as he said, "No Gandalf, 'tis not", then I watched as a castle appeared before my eyes as Randagast described it. The leaves were piled on the stairs while trees, thorns, and roots grew from the walls and floors, "A dark power dwells in there, such I have never felt before", as Randagast said this I felt his fear and anxiety. "It is the shadow of an ancient horror", as he said this I felt a chill run up my spine, "One that can summon spirits…of the dead", I felt Randagast's fear as he fought a blue glowing person, before he knocked them down and they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

On the ground laid a sword that the blue person was holding before they disappeared and they sword gave off an unnatural charge through the air. "I saw him…from the darkness", turning around I saw a shadow appear before me in the archway drawing nearer as it called out for Randagast's name then morphed into mine, "Randagast, Ran-iana, Liliana", it whispered harshly. "The necromancer has come", Randagast said menacingly as I saw him run out of the fortress and away from the shadowy figure. Can't say I blame him, I thought as I `woke up` and I jumped just as he did as I saw a giant bat flying at me in my mind and I breathed slowly trying to calm down.

"Sorry", Randagast said apologizing to both Gandalf and I, "Try a little Old Toby, it'll calm your nerves", Gandalf said, offering Randagast his pipe which he happily smoked as he breathed out the smoke through his nose and ears smiling. "Now, a necromancer…are you sure", Gandalf questioned Randagast and Randagast sighed then handed him something covered in a sheet. Gandalf glanced up at Randagast questioningly before looking down at the wrapped object and slowly unwrapped it. As I was standing next to Gandalf I stood on my toes to take a look and when he saw this, he bent down to let me take a look at the ghostly blade. "That is not from the world of the living", Randagast told us, then there was a howl, "Was that a wolf" I heard Bilbo ask as I rushed over.

"Are there wolves here", Bilbo asked frantically, "Wolves? No, that is not a wolf", Bofur answered Bilbo, "Then what is it", I asked walking over to them. Hearing a growl behind me, I turned around and saw my answer as I saw a giant bear-wolf creature standing on top of the cliff above us. The dwarves easily took it down as he jumped to attack us, "Kili! Get your bow", Thorin yelled and Kili quickly did as he said and shot another down, Dwalin crushed it's skull with his mace.

I examined the creatures more closely and the closer I got the more terrifying they looked. "What are they", I asked again, "Warg scouts", Thorin answered, Which means an orc pack is not far behind", he told me. "We're being hunted", I said in realization and all the dwarves looked at me in shock and Thorin growled angrily, "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin", Gandalf demanded Thorin, "No one", he repled. "Well, you must of told someone", I said, "I told no one, I swear", Thorin told me, "What is Durin's name is going on", Thorin asked and I sighed frustrated and Bilbo gulped.

"We have to get out of here", Dwalin shouted looking around to make sure the wargs didn't attack us in spontaneously. "We can't, we have no ponies! They bolted", cried Ori. Then there was another warg howl, "I'll drive them off", Randagast told us, "These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you", said Gandalf to which Randagast said, "These are Rhosgobel rabbits, I'd like to see them try", he quickly got on his cart and rode off.

As Randagast distracted the warg scouts the dwarves, Gandalf, Bilbo, and I ran across a rocky-hilly-grassy field, hiding behind giant boulders as we ran. "Stay together, move", Gandalf said as we ran to another boulder. "Ori, no! Get back", Thorin whispered loudly as he quickly pulled Ori back before he could be seen by the warg scouts. "All of you, come on, quick", Gandalf said gesturing for us to move again, once the warg scouts were pulled to another direction.

"Where are you leading us", I heard Thorin question Gandalf as I ran past, then we ran behind another large boulder and kept quiet as a warg scout jumped onto it…searching for us. Then Kili all of a sudden drew an arrow slowly, "Kili don't", I warned, but he didn't listen as he shot the warg causing it to cry out as it landed in front of us along with the orc who had been riding it. The dwarves quickly killed both creatures, but I was sure that the fighting could be heard yards away. Then I heard howling coming right for us, "Move! Run", Gandalf shouted and we ran following behind him.

I was short on breath and felt myself slowing down, I was about to stop to catch my breath when Bilbo quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me along. "I don't think I ever had to run this much", I said, "Me either", Bilbo told me, we both breathed heavily but kept running, then we were being surrounded, "This way, quickly", Gandalf yelled and we ran toward him.

"There's more coming", Kili shouted, "Kili shoot them", Thorin ordered as Kili did just that. "We're surrounded", Fili yelled and I drew out my dagger, ready to fight if need be; Kili shot an orc and killed it, "Where's Gandalf", Dori yelled looking around for said wizard as we grouped tighter together as the warg scouts circled us as if they were circling a prey. "He' abandoned us", Dwalin yelled, thinking of the worst possible thing then Ori shot a rock at a warg with his sling shot and barley fazed it and the orc who rode said orc drew closer as it laughed at him.

"Hold your ground", Thorin ordered as he drew his sword to face down the enemies, pretty much at this point everyone had their weapons out and ready to fight. I tried to feel where Gandalf was, but all I could feel was the overwhelmingly emotions of fear, panic, anger, and confusion coming from the dwarves. So it surprised me when I heard Gandalf's voice, "This way you fools", he yelled from behind a large rock before he…jumped and disappeared?

When Thorin looked over to where Gandalf was, he gave a look a look of confusion and followed him, "Come on, and move! Quickly all of you", Thorin ordered and gestured for us to down the hole where Gandalf disappeared. Bofur jumped in first, then Bombur, myself and I'll admit sliding down the rock did hurt a bit as I had scrapes on my hands, Bilbo, then Balin, Gloin (who jumped in), then Oin, Bifir, Fili, then Ori, Nori, and Dori, the three brothers slid down together. The only one who was left was Kili, which Thorin noticed as he called out for him, "Kili", he yelled and soon I saw said dwarf slide down the rock as well.

The a horn rang through the air and we heard the wargs and orcs screaming in pain as they were being slaughtered, which I'll admit frightened me a bit wondering what was out there. An orc fell down the hole and landed in front of us, making me jump in surprise and I noticed there was a long arrow that pierced through its neck. Gandalf poked it with his staff and made sure it was dead by stabbing it through the stomach, guess he didn't want any surprise attack. "Um, it has an arrow in its neck….I'm pretty sure it was dead before you did all that", I told Gandalf to which he replied with a very serious, "You can't be too careful."

Thorin pulled out the arrow from the orcs neck to examine it, "Elves", he exclaimed angrily before throwing the arrow down in disgust and he looked at Gandalf suspiciously. , "I cannot see where this path leads…do we follow it or no", Dwalin asked, "Follow it of course", Bofur said quickly going towards the path to follow it and we all soon followed shortly after. "I think that would be wise", Gandalf said following after us, as we walked through the narrow tunnels Bilbo came up behind me and asked, "Where do you think this leads", "Somewhere extraordinary", I said excitedly and surprising myself, this was the first time I was excited about anything in a long time. "I can't wait to see what it is", I told Bilbo honestly and he smiled at that, but still looked a bit unsure.

At the end of the path we finally saw it and it was beautiful, I stared in awe as the sunlight glistened over the roof tops, the waterfalls fell over certain parts of the gardens of the city that made it look glittery, and the city itself sat in a middle of a valley. "The Valley of Imladris, in the common tongue it's known by another name", Gandalf said and Bilbo answered my unspoken question, "Rivendell." "It's beautiful", I commented, "Is every place you see beautiful", Bofur asked me, "Well, I only mention it needed to be said", I told him, referring to the dwarves who seemed to care less. "What about Hobbiton? The Shire", Gandalf asked and Bilbo looked at us curiously, "I didn't think it needed to be said…it's beautiful in a different way, more homey", I told him and Gandalf lifted a brown at me and smirked amused, which made me confused. "You're saying you feel more at home in the shire", Gandalf stated, "Yes", I said confused at his question, at least until he chuckled and I blushed embarrassed.

"Well, here lies the best homely house east of the sea", Gandalf said changing the subject which, oddly enough, I was thankful for. "This was your plan all along", Thorin demanded and stormed up to Gandalf who looked at Thorin annoyed, "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself", Gandalf told Thorin. Then I added, "Nothing helps if you hold onto grudges…I know that from personal experience and besides these elves didn't abandon you", Thorin shot me an angry look and I placed my hands on my hips as I glared back at him before he sighed and turned away.

"Do you both really think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us", Thorin said turning back to look at Gandalf and I. "Are there those who will try to stop you? Yes, they are only trying to help", I said, "Yes and we have questions that need answers, the king is an old of mine…he may be able to translate the text", Gandalf to Thorin and Thorin looked at us angrily, before finally shaking his head and nodding, agreeing to what we said. "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me", Gandalf said as we followed him down the path and to the city of Rivendell.

As we crossed the bridge in order to reach the city, I noticed giant statues that decorated the entrance and exit of the bridge. Being here reminded me how short I still was, not that I minded and I was getting used to it, I stared at everything amazed before I composed myself as an elf walked down the steps that lead to a parlor. "Mithrandir", the elf greeted Gandalf, "A Lindir", Gandalf said to the elf, whose name I guessed was Lindir. The two exchanged conversations in another language which I guess was elven, before Lindir told us all in English, "My Lord Elrond is not here', then I heard a horn rang out through the air and we all turned around to see an army of elves riding horsed charge right at us.

Thorin yelled something in dwarfish and he yelled in English, "Close ranks", then Bofur pulled both Bilbo and I into the middle of their entourage. As the elves circled us, they examined us all as well, I felt confusion, sympathy, and a little bit of fear and suspicion coming off of them. When the elves drew closer to us, the dwarves jumbled up closer as Bilbo and I were pushed together. Then they stopped and hopped off their horses, "Gandalf", the elf who seemed to be in charge greeted said wizard, "Lord Elrond", Gandalf greeted and they conversed in elfish. Then Lord Elrond spoke to Gandalf in english as Gandalf handed him the sword that was wrapped in a sheet, "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders, something or someone has drawn them near", Lord Elrond said turning the still covered blade in his hand, examining it. "Ah, that might have been us", Gandalf told the elven king, then he turned his head toward Thorin and nodded.

Thorin sighed, before walking up to Lord Elrond, "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain", Lord Elrond greeted as he handed the covered blade back to Gandalf. "I do not believe we have met", said Thorin causing the elven king to smirk a bit before he said, "You have your grandfather's bearing, I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain. Thorin gave off a wave of anger before it disapeared, "Indeed? He made no mention of you", Thorin told the elven king, "No need to be rude", I said quietly before Gandalf shushed me and I rolled my eyes annoyed.

The Lord Elrond said something in elvish to Thorin, who looked at him confused, "What is he saying? Does he offer us insult", Gloin shouted enraged and was about to charge at the elven king before the other dwarves stopped him. The elves smiled kindly, I felt no hostility from them, only the dwarves who apparently thought they were being insulted. "I'm pretty sure he just invited us in", I told Gloin who still looked angry when he glanced over to look at me, "And he's offering you food, Master Gloin", Gandalf added. The dwarves gathered around as Bilbo and I stood off to the side watching the debate, finally Gloin turned around and said embarrassed, "Well in that case, lead on", Lord Elrond smiled and led us up the stairs.

Sitting around the table, the dwarves looked at their plates full of salad in disgust, "Go on and try…just a mouthful", Dori said trying to convince his brother to eat the salad. "I don't eat green food", said Ori placing down a piece of lettuce he was just examining. "Where's the meat", Dwalin asked after searching the table, "Have they got any chips", Ori asked looking to the elves who played music around us. I hesitated before eating a bite full of lettuce and I was pleasantly surprised, it had a satisfying taste to it. "You could always eat the berries", I commented referring to the bowls of blueberries, grapes, raspberries, and strawberries that surrounded us on the table. "No, I don't eat green food", Ori told me, still insisting that he wasn't going to eat the salad, "Alright", I said as I cut up some strawberries and grapes before adding them to my salad.

As I ate, I smiled happily and contently which caused the elves to smile as well; after watching me curiously as I sliced my berries, placed them in my salad, and then smiling contently, Bilbo decided to do the exact same thing and seemed happy with the result. Suddenly Oin grunted unhappily as a flute was played by his ear, after stuffing a napkin into his horn, which helped him hear, he then smiled happily as he could not hear the music. The dwarves chuckled at him as Lord Elrond and Gandalf came over to sit at the table as well.

After a while, Lord Elrond examined the blades we have found within the troll's cave, "This is Orcrist, the goblin cleaver; a famous blade…forged by the high elves of the west, my kin. May it serve you well", Lord Elrond said and then gave the sword back to Thorin, the Gandalf handed the elven king his sword, "And this is Glamdring…the foe hammer, sword of the king Gondoin. These were made for the goblin wars of the first age", said Lord Elrond before he handed the sword back to Gandalf.

Curiously, I looked at my dagger and then examined…I also noticed Bilbo was doing the same thing, "I wouldn't bother lass and laddie, swords and other weapons are named for the great deeds they do in war", Balin told us as we examined our weapons. Bilbo looked quite offended, "What are you saying? My sword hasn't seen battle", "Nor my dagger", Bilbo and I asked Balin who then sighed, "I'm not actually sure it is a sword or that a dagger. More of a letter opener and a butter knife really", Balin said and I chuckled as Bilbo looked at him upset. "I'm sure we'll be able to name them", I told Balin who smiled and I heard Bilbo sigh from across me.

"How did you come by theses", Lord Elrond asked Gandalf, referring to the weapons he was just shown, "We found them in a troll hoard on the East Road...shortly before we were ambushed by orcs", Gandalf replied. The elven king put his hands to his chin as he thought, then placed them back down on his lap as he spoke to Gandalf, "And what were you doing on the Great East Road?" Thorin looked over to Gandalf and gave him a look of warning, "I'm afraid that is the son of Thrain's choice to tell you", Gandalf told Lord Elrond who nodded understandingly.

After I had finished eating, I asked one of the elves if they could point me to the direction of the garden which I was sure they had. What I needed was time to relax after a long journey and before an even longer journey that I was sure we were going to have. The elf said that she would escort me to the garden so that I wouldn't get lost, I finally agreed after she insisted, "Wait, Liliana", I heard Bilbo call as we began to walk away and then stopped to wait for Bilbo, "Yes Bilbo", I inquired when he stood before me. After stammering for a moment, he finally managed to say, "May I join you", then we heard the dwarves whistle from the table and Bilbo shut his eyes tight, clearly embarrassed. "N-never mind", Bilbo said and I quickly grabbed his hand before he could walk away, "You may, but if I may ask…why do you want to see the gardens", I asked Bilbo and he quickly turned back around once my hand grabbed his.

"Back home, hobbits make their own gardens to take care of and compared to a hobbit garden an elven garden is absolutely spectacular", Bilbo told me as the elven woman escorted us to the garden and I noticed his cheeks changed to a light shade of pink. Once we were in the garden, our escort excused herself and left, leaving both Bilbo and I to stare at the garden in awe. The setting sun sparkled off the grass, trees, vines, and ponds that scattered around the garden in rays of orange, pink, and red; the garden itself was set up as more of a park then an actual garden.

We walked along the path that circled around the garden and talked, "I never did thank you for letting me stay at your house and for dinner", I told Bilbo who smiled, "It's not a problem…as I said I like visitors, but not when they come one after another uninvited. Perhaps it is rude of me saying so about our friends…and your welcome", Bilbo said then stopped me. "About what they said…I would never try to `woo` you as they say, without out your consent, unless you wanted that to be…no…I…um", Bilbo said then sighed, "I'm sorry dinner was ruined", he said looking away, "…and I never attempted to `woo` or flirt with you…unless that's what you wanted." "It's fine and to be honest I was quite entertained", I told Bilbo who looked at me confused, "Entertained", he asked, "Yeah, I liked seeing you lose your composure", I said winking at him, telling him I was only kidding around as he blushed. "It was nice to see you remove that composed mask and show us a different side to yourself. Which, by the way, you've been doing a lot lately", I told Bilbo. "Do you want me to stop", he asked me, "No of course not, just keep being yourself, that's all I ask", I told him and he smiled at that.

Later that night, the elven woman who escorted Bilbo and myself to the garden, took me to the large bathing room, "Don't worry, you have this place all to yourself", she told me, "Um…are there separate baths? Female and male", I asked her and she looked at me as if that was obvious but she was kind about it, "Of course, now here is a large cloth, your pack, and your traveling outfit that you requested…but I don't understand why won't you take the dress", the elven woman asked me. "I don't think it's sensible to be wearing a dress the night before were supposed to leave…we have to be ready to go without any pauses", I told her and she frowned slightly. "The dwarves have you well trained don't they…I hope one day you get to wear a beautiful gown once your quest is complete. Enjoy your bath miss", she said, placing the towel and outfit on a rock, and then left the bathroom; looking to where she exited I wondered why she wanted me to bathe so badly, did I really stink that bad? Once I was in the bath and I smeared my mascara off, I realized I was still wearing makeup from that day and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. I must've looked like a clown from all the sweat and I was sure my makeup was smeared all over my face or maybe I'm just over exaggerating.

After taking a long relaxing bath and calming myself down, I quickly dried myself off and got dressed, then folded up the dirty clothes that were fitted to me and stuffed it into my pack. Once that was done, there was a knock that came from the bathroom door, "Come, Lord Elrond has called upon us and Thorin. Bilbo is here with me and Balin will most likely be at Thorin's side…are you decent", Gandalf asked from the other side of the door. Grabbing my pack and opening the door, I saw that Bilbo was indeed right next to Gandalf and I stood there in another of Bilbo's clothing that was fitted to me. I watched irritated as Gandalf looked at my outfit then to Bilbo amused, then he turned around and walked off as Bilbo and I followed after him.

We met Lord Elrond and Thorin in the great hall, Thorin was refusing to give the elven king the map, "Show him the map, and let him know of our quest" Gandalf said to the stubborn Thorin. Thorin sighed angrily at Gandalf, "Our business is no concern of the elves", Thorin said unpleasantly to which Gandalf replies, "For goodness sake Thorin, show him the map." "It is the legacy of my people, it is mine to protect…as is its secrets", Thorin said and Gandalf sighed, putting his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose. "Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves…your pride will be your downfall", Gandalf told Thorin, "You stand in the presence of one of the few in middle earth who can read that map. Show it to Lord Elrond", Gandalf said impatiently. We waited to see what Thorin would do, then he finally gave in and pulled the map out of his jacket. After pushing away Balin, who tried to stop him, Thorin gave the map to Lord Elrond.

Lord Elrond unfolded the map carefully, knowing how much it meant to the dwarves, and looked at it, "Erebor", the elven king said surprised, "What is your interest in this map", he asked Thorin. Thorin was about to answer, however when he hesitated Gandalf stepped in, "It's mainly academic, as you know this sort of artifact sometimes contains hidden text", Gandalf said making up an excuse, then both he and Thorin gave eachother knowing looks as Lord Elrond turned away to examine the map even closer. "You still read dwarvish, do you not", Gandalf asked the elven king, who was silent for a long moment.

Then Lord Elrond said something in Elvish, he sounded annoyed as he looked at the edge of the map and then he tilted it so he could examine it further along the edge. "Moon runes, of course", Gandalf suddenly said, then both Bilbo and I looked up at him confused, "An easy thing to miss", he told us, "Well in this case, that is true; moon runes can only be read by the light of a moon, of the same shape and season as the day on which they were written", Lord Elrond said and explained moon runes to us. I sighed and brushed my hair through my hand, this was much more complicated than I thought, "Can you read them", Thorin asked the elven king and Lord Elrond nodded. "First we must travel to where the moon is shining the brightest, follow me", Lord Elrond said walking away and we soon followed.

Then we traveled up and out of a tunnel to see a clear crystal alter near the ledge, the water fall fell over the outside of the open cave we were in, and the moon shined through illuminating us in white light. "These runes were written on a midsummer's Eve by the light of the crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago", Lord Elrond said and I stared wide-eyed at lord Elrond, then the map as he gently placed it onto the alter and it began to glow a soft light blue. "It would seem you were meant to come to Rivendell, fate is with you Thorin Oakinshield. The same moon shines upon us tonight", Lord Elrond said as the clouds that blocked the moon were blown away, causing the map to shine even brighter until words appeared on the map. Words that I didn't recognize as any language I've ever seen in my time, Lord Elrond calmly read the text out loud, "Stand by the grey stone when thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's day will shine upon a keyhole." "Durin's day", Balin questioned, "It is the start of the dwarves' new year, when the last moon of autumn and the first sun of winter appear in the sky together."

"This is ill news, summer is passing and Durin's day is upon us", Thorin said upset and Balin walked over to him, "We still have time", Balin told Thorin reassuringly. "Time? Time for what" Bilbo questioned and I could sense Balin's hope and fear as he pictured the lonely mountain and the large entrance into Erebor and then it hit me, "The entrance", I stated quietly, however Balin heard me and nodded. "We need to find an entrance", Balin said looking to both Bilbo and I, the he looked back to Thorin, "We need to be standing in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. Then and only then can the door be opened."

Lord Elrond looked between each of us disapprovingly as he asked, "So this is your purpose, to enter the mountain", "What of it", Thorin asked angrily as the eleven king returned the map to Thorin. "There are some who would not deem it wise", Lord Elrond said and Gandalf looked at him confused, "What do you mean", he asked, "You are not the only guardian to stand watch over middle earth", the elven king said and we walked back down the steps of the tunnel. Bilbo let me go in first before him and I smiled while doing so, I didn't understand why he was being so kind to me.

Later that night the dwarves sat around the campfire and roasted some sausages that Bombur just so happened to have stored in his pack. In order to make the campfire, they broke down the elves furniture and lit it aflame…I could only imagine the elves reaction when they see the mess. "Bombur", Bofur called as he tossed his brother a sausage who easily caught it and was still able to hold onto while the seat collapsed under him, the dwarves fell on the floor laughing. As I stood there laughing at the antics of my friends, Gandalf came around a corner and walked toward me. He asked me if I wanted to join him and Lord Elrond to a meeting with the white council, I looked up at him confused and eventually nodded. Shrugging at the dwarves who gave me curious and confused looks I followed Gandalf, "Ah Miss Short, I am pleased to see you will be joining us", Lord Elrond said politely, "Um, yes…thanks for inviting me", I said awkwardly and he nodded as we walked through the garden and up the steps that led to a patio.

"Your dwarves are very…feisty, no doubt they will need our help", the elven king said to both Gandalf and I, "With or without our help, these dwarves will march on the mountain, they're determined to reclaim their homeland", Gandalf said. "Is there a reason they shouldn't", I asked angrily and Gandalf continued, completely ignoring me, "I do not believe Thorin Oakenshield feels that he is answerable to anyone, nor for that matter am I or Miss Short for that matter." Lord Elrond shook his head and sighed, "It is not me you must answer to", he told us, once we reached the top. Same as the cave, the area overlooked the valley with the moon making the figure who stood at the edge of the patio glow. Then the figure slowly turned around to look at us as he dress gracefully swirled and hugged her, the white dress that she wore fell around her like a waterfall and flowed into a river at her feet.

I was stunned at her beauty and her emotions showed those of a caring and understanding individual, "Lady Galadriel", Gandalf said softly and lovingly, "Mithrandir", Lady Galadriel greeted and then looked to me. "Hello Liliana", she greeted me as if she greeted a frightened child and in some way I was a little scared of the situation I've been put in, also I was shocked that she knew my name. Then she spoke elfish to Gandalf and then he to her as he bowed, "I had no idea Lord Elrond had sent for you", Gandalf said glancing and smiling over toward the elven king. "He didn't", said an ominous sounding voice, it took me a moment to look at the face who had just spoken; upon turning my head I saw a man standing firm. This man wore a long white robe, had straight gray hair as well as beard, and a black staff.

"I did", the man said, "Saruman", Lord Elrond greeted as Gandalf bowed and made me bow as well, I got angry and shoved Gandalf's hand away but soon calmed when I saw Gandalf's worried expression. "You've been busy of late, my friend", Saruman said then looked to me, "and this must be Miss Short, Lady Galadriel has told me much about you. I didn't know you were accepting apprentices Gandalf." "What do you mean", I asked him, "It is not important, you will join our order soon enough", Saruman said rather coldly, "You are confusing my words Saruman, I said she will become a wizard however it may not happen right away or at all, because fate has chosen another path for her. Dear Mithrandir, you did know setting her on this course there would be no turning back," Lady Galadriel asked Gandalf. "Yes, why not send her straight here if you wanted her to join our order", Saruman asked as well to which Gandalf replied, "I thought it would be en-interesting to see how this other path would play out…if it went into another direction and if I did send her straight here. She wouldn't have felt so strongly to help them if she weren't with them through the trials they had so far." "Meaning you were bored and wanted some entertainment", Saruman said annoyed.

"Whatever the reason maybe, it is far too late to put her onto the other path…her fate and destiny are intertwined with the dwarves and the hobbit. She is still young and maybe when she is older, she will reconsider", Lady Galadriel told them exactly what I was thinking," I have to finish what I started", I added. "They and a certain individual will need you on the days to come", Lady Galadriel told me and I looked at her confused. "You may go and get some rest-","Wait, who is this individual", Saruman asked cutting off Gandalf, "Saruman", "No, I would like to know…who is it", Saruman asked me, like he was my father, cutting off Gandalf again. I shrugged and said, "I don't know", and walked away, leaving a very upset Saruman at the table.

As I walked through the garden, I thought about what they told me…could it be true? Shaking my head I fell sleep next to the makeshift camp the dwarves made and wrapped myself in a blanket that I had brought. A sentence caught my attention as I left garden and I thought over what Lady Galadriel had said, "Why did you pull her across time? Not because she's a young wizard or have her join the dwarves on their quest, but something bigger…-"then I was gently shaken awake by Bilbo, "We're leaving", he told me and I nodded as I stuffed my blanket into my pack, before picking it up and carried it. I followed the dwarves and Bilbo as we left the city of Rivendell.

All of us formed a line as we followed the narrow path alongside the mountainside, "Be on your guard, we're about to step over the edge of the wild", Thorin told us, "Balin you know the paths, lead on", he ordered and Balin stepped forward and lead the line. Bilbo and I stopped to take one last look at Rivendell, "Do you think we'll come back", Bilbo asked me, "I think they'll allow us to visit anytime we like, within reason", I told him to which he said, "Fair enough." "Master Baggins and Mistress Short, I suggest you both keep up", Thorin told us and we soon followed after the dwarves. I really do hope we get to go back, I thought as we journeyed further along the path.


	4. Chapter 4

(The story belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson.)

Soon we found ourselves walking along large fields of golden grass, then walked underneath a large boulder with a beautiful waterfall falling over it for shade. Then we climbed farther and farther up a mountain, and traveled along the snowy peaks; as night fell we walked along the edge of the mountain, then it started to rain. It thundered, lightning, and rained as we traveled along the treacherous edge of the mountain, "Hey, hold on", Thorin yelled as we held onto the wall to retain our balance. Then Bilbo slipped, I was quick to grab him as was Dwalin and we pushed him back to the wall; I noticed Bofur also caught my arm to prevent me from falling as well and I thanked him as we continued along.

"We must find shelter", Thorin yelled back at us, "Look out", Dwalin yelled as we turned to see a large boulder heading right for us, it was thrown right above, the it crushed, and fell over us in pieces. "Look out brother", I heard Gloin yell, "Hold on", I heard Kili yell as the rocks fell over us, "This is no thunderstorm…it's a thunder battle", Balin yelled as he looked off into the distance, looking toward his line of sight I saw a very large rock figure that was illuminated by the lightning and my heart skipped a beat in fright. Overwhelming fear consumed most of the dwarves and then another giant rock creature removed itself from a mountain to face it's foe, "Well bless me", Bofur said as the rock creature picked up a boulder off the ground, "The legends are true, giants-stone giants!" The boulder, that the rock creature held, was then thrown at the head of the other rock creature who then fell on its back. "Take cover you fool", Thorin yelled as Kili pulled him Bofur back who stood near the edge, gapping at the giant rock creatures.

Then, all of a sudden, the mountain we stood on began to move and then we were all lifted up as it appeared that we were standing on a stone giant ourselves. I was about to fall forward when Bilbo pushed me back as our half separated from the other half of the dwarves as the giant we were on stood up, "What's happening", Kili cried as Fili reached his hand forward to grab his brother, "Grab my hand", Fili yelled as the giant's legs were spreading apart and separating the brothers. As our rock giant stood another rock giant head butted ours and caused it to fall backwards a bit, causing it to land on another mountain. This action allowed the other half of dwarves to run off its knee and onto safety on the other mountain. However, our half hardly managed to hold on as our rock giant punched the other; we kept getting flung about until we stopped near in front of the other half of our friends.

"Jump, come on", Thorin yelled, "Are you crazy?! That's like a thousand foot drop", I yelled, "More like five thousand", Bofur told me which made me glare and then punch him in the arm, causing him to grunt in pain , "Not helping", I yelled angrily as he rubbed his arm. Then the rock giant thrusted forward and we managed to fall onto the ledge to safety before getting crushed. "No, no, no, Kili", Thorin yelled as the other half of dwarves came running around the corner of the mountain and they sighed relieved as we lied there in pain. "It's alright! There alive", I heard Gloin yell in joy, I smiled as I sat up and looked around then I frowned and looked again.

"Where's Bilbo", I heard Bofur say and I panicked, "Where's the hobbit", my eyes widened as I saw a pair of hands holding onto the ledge, "Bilbo", I yelled as I ran over to grab his hand. When he fell, I fell to grab his hand, "Hold on", I cried, "What are you doing", I heard Thorin yell as someone grabbed my foot. "Don't you dare let go", I yelled to Bilbo who just nodded helplessly as the dwarves attempted to pull us up, but I was in an angle off the cliff where when they tried to pull me up it gave me great pain. All of the dwarves held onto me as Thorin jumped down to grab Bilbo and threw him up onto the ledge and I sighed relieved then I gave Thorin a funny look as gently pulled me down by the shoulders. Then he lifted me up by the waist so that the dwarves and Bilbo could pull me up as well. Thorin almost fell as well, then Dwalin jumped forward and pulled him up as well.

Bilbo and I tried to catch our breath as we leaned against the wall of the mountain, "Don't do that again, you had me…worried", I said and whispered the last part looking away from Bilbo. Then I heard him sigh and then he held my hand, "I thought we lost our burglar", I heard Dwalin say, "He's been lost ever since he left home", Thorin said looking at us then glanced down at our joined hands which made him angry and confused. "They should never have come, they have no place amongst us", Thorin said angrily, I was about to shout and yell at him but after seeing Bilbo's face I remained where I was.

"Dwalin", Thorin called as he went into a nearby cave and Dwalin followed, Bilbo held onto my hand as he helped me up as we both stood and then let go. "Thank you for…risking your life for me", Bilbo said to me and blushed, "I can't say I would do that for anyone", I told him honestly and our eyes widened at what I had just said. "Are you done? We're entering the cave", Bofur said and I nodded quickly walking into the cave where the dwarves had just walked into and Bilbo followed soon after.

Dwalin looked around the inside of the cave with a lit lantern, "There's nothing here", he said making sure the cave was clear of enemies. "Right, let's get a fire started", Gloin said setting down some broken elven wooden chairs, "No, no fires…not in this place. Get some sleep we leave at first light", Thorin told us as he walked cautiously around. "We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us that was the plan", Balin told Thorin annoyed. "Plans change and we already have a wizard with us", Thorin said referring the last part to me and I sighed annoyed, "Bofur, take first watch", Thorin told Bofur who looked up in surprise.

All of us soon fell asleep and a few hours had passed when I felt a light breeze and someone shook me lightly waking me up. When I woke I saw that it was Bilbo who stood over me with a hand on my shoulder, "We're leaving" Bilbo whispered as I yawned and stretched, "What….already", I asked and he quickly shushed me and I gave him a worried look. "We're going back to Rivendell", he told me and my eyes widened as I quickly sat up, "What", I whispered as he continued, "And I can't leave my guest behind", then I blushed. Quickly he rolled up my blanket, attached to my pack, and gave it to me to carry, "We can't leave and what about our quest", I whispered, "You heard Thorin and he's right I have been lost since I went on this quest, it doesn't suit me….does it suit you", he asked me as he began walking toward the exit. "Well, no…but isn't that the whole point to get out of our….Bilbo", I whispered as I followed and tried to stop Bilbo.

"Where do you think you two are going", Bofur asked right when we passed him and we turned around to look at him, "Back to Rivendell", Bilbo answered before I could say. "No, no, you both can't turn back now, eh? You're a part of the company, you're both on of us", Bofur told us as he stood to face us upset, "I know", I replied and I heard Bilbo sigh. "But I'm not…am I", Bilbo asked us, "Of course you are", I told him, it was obvious that he was, "You may think that, but Thorin….Thorin said I should never have come and he was right…I'm not a Took…I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking…I should never have ran out that door", Bilbo told us. "Bilbo", I said and sighed as he looked at me, "It doesn't matter what you think you are, but what you think you should be. Not every Took is going to be a Took, nor every Baggins is going to be like every Baggins", I told and gestured to Bilbo as an example.

Bilbo looked like he was thinking about what I said, "You're homesick, I understand", Bofur suddenly said and Bilbo sighed looking over to him, "No you don't…you don't understand….none of you do, you're dwarves….you're used to this life. To living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere…oh, I'm sorry…I didn't-", "No, you're right", Bofur said cutting him off as I looked at the dwarves sadly as did Bofur, "We don't belong anywhere", Bofur told us. Then I glanced up as Bofur turned his head back to look at us," I wish you both all the luck in the world", Bofur said sadly, "I really do", then he patted us on the shoulders. Bilbo nodded and turned around, I was about to stop him when Bofur said, "What's that", as he pointed to our blades.

Looking down I quickly removed my dagger and my eyes widened as I saw that it was glowing blue, "Wake up, wake up", I heard Thorin yell behind me alert. Then we all fell through the floor as it tilted beneath us and we slid down a rocky slide until we all fell through a hole and landed in a wooden-chained cage. Bilbo landed on the heap of dwarves and then I landed on Bilbo as he grunted when I did so, then we watched as a hoard of horrid looking goblins came running toward us. They grabbed, pulled, and pushed us, "You'll pay for this", I heard Gloin yell, "Get off, get you hands off me, get off", Dwalin yelled as well, the goblins hands then slipped off of me and passed by as if I was invisible and I slowly bent down making myself as small as I could.

Once the goblins were gone I stood up and looked at Bilbo as he walked up beside me, "We have to free them", I told him as I pulled out my dagger, "I agree", he replied pulling out his weapon as well. Even though I couldn't tell what he was feeling I could see determination on his face and that he found some courage. We snuck across the bridges, being careful to keep a safe distance away from the hoard of goblins that held our friends, we figured once the goblins were distracted or when they isolated the dwarves we would sneak in and free them. Of course it was much easier said than done and it became harder when one of the goblins jumped down and landed in front of us.

The goblin growled at us and then it charged, ready to swing at us with its sword; we fought it off with Bilbo's sword and my dagger. Then the goblin got frantic with its movements, it even jumped onto Bilbo and bit his ear, I quickly stabbed it in the back, and it screeched. It writhed until we fell over the edge of the bridge, I screamed and Bilbo managed to catch me in midair, pulling me close to him, and spun around so that his back faced the ground. I woke up and opened my eyes when I heard painful breathing coming from the goblin not too far from where I landed and I stayed completely still as a strange, small, and bug eyed creature slowly crawled to the goblin.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes", the creature squawked, examining the goblin as if it were a meal, "Gollum, Gollum", the creature said as it dragged the goblin away. Then the goblin sprang back to life at it tried to attack the creature, however the creature grabbed a rock and beat it simultaneously. As the creature beat the goblin to death, I saw something golden fly out of its pocket and it shined ominously. "Nasty goblinses", the creature said as it proceeded to drag the goblin away, "Better than old bones precious…better than nothing."

I sighed in relief once the creature was gone, "Um, you can get off me now", Bilbo told me and we both blushed as I quickly got up and helped Bilbo up as well. "Thanks for saving me", I said, "Your welcome, suppose this make us even", Bilbo told me smiling and I smiled back, "I suppose it does", I replied as he looked away and down. Bilbo walked forward and picked something up, "What's that", I asked walking up beside him, "A ring", he replied and showed it to me; why would that creature have a ring, I wondered. The ominous feeling grew as I was now closer to the ring, "There's something dark in that ring", I commented and I felt an anxious feeling roll off the ring as it manipulated our minds. There was a demand of freedom…of escape coming off the ring, but that would mean that the ring was alive? Then I shook off the feeling, "Put that ring in your pocket unless you want to be caught with it", I said and Bilbo did just that as he whispered, "Good idea."

Then I jumped as I heard the creature yell, "Ah, too many boneses precious, not enough flesh! Shut up, cut its skin off!" We slowly made our way towards where the creature was yelling from with our weapons drawn, "Start with its head", the creature said, I was now grossed out. I held my bearings as it started to sing, "The cold hard lands, they bites our hand, they grows our feet. The rocks and stones, they're like old bones, all bare of meat", as it sung Bilbo and I snuck behind a large rock inside a large opening inside the cave, where a lake and a middle land sat in the middle of the opening, this is where the creature and the goblin sat.

Bilbo and I poked our heads around the rock to look at the creature, "Cold as death, without no breath, it's good to eat", the creature sang and the goblin suddenly screamed as it tried to get away. Then the creature snapped its neck and Bilbo jumped and we quickly hid back behind the rock once we saw that the creature looked at us. We saw that our weapons glow slowly faded as the goblin died and I gulped, glancing over to the creature from behind the rock again, we saw that it and the goblin had disappeared. There was heavy breathing coming right above us and we both looked up to see the creature looking down, then it smiled and jumped down.

"Bless us and splash us precious, there's two meaty mouthfulls", the creature said before Bilbo and I lifted our weapons and pointed them at the creature. The creature frowned as Bilbo held his sword at the creature's throat, "Gollum, Gollum! Ack", the creature said annoyed and angry glancing up at the two of us. Bilbo had one hand that held his sword pointing it at the creature's throat and his other hand was in front and protecting me, I gave him a confused look but didn't object from the thoughtful gesture. "Stay back, stay back, I'm warning you…don't come any closer", Bilbo said, his voice shaking a bit. "It's got and elfish blade, but it's not an elfs", the creature said crawling away and turned around to examine us, "Not an elfs, no…What is its precious? What is its", it asked us.

"My name is Bilbo Baggins", said Bilbo, "And I'm Liliana Short", I said my name as well and the creature glanced at the both of us, the creature looked like a very old man I noticed once he was visible in the light. "What is a Bagginses and a Shortses, precious", the creature or old man asked us and we shifted uncomfortably underneath its gaze, looking at each other than the creature. "I'm a hobbit and she's…a shrunken version daughter of men", Bilbo replied, "Oh we like goblinses, batses, and fishes, but we never tried hobbitses or shrunken menses before…is it soft? Is it juicy", the creature said slowly crawling toward us with its mouth drooling like a predator. Bilbo quickly swung his sword at it with both of his hands as I kept my dagger pointed at it, "Now, now, keep your distance…I will use this if I have to", Bilbo said and pointed his sword back at the creature.

The creature screeched making Bilbo jump and swing his sword at it again, "We don't want any trouble, do you understand", "Just show us the way out and we'll leave you alone", both Bilbo and I said and the creature smirked up at us. "Why? Is its lost", the creature asked menacingly, "Yes, yes, and we'd like to get unlost as soon as possible", Bilbo said and I closed my eyes, it would have been better if he had not shared that information to the being who is more than capable of taking us out and eating us. "Oh, we knows! We knows paths safe for hobbitses and menses. Safe paths in the dark", the creature said while pointing across the lake and then quickly lowered his hand as it told itself to, "Shut up!" "We didn't say anything", Bilbo said as we looked at each other, then the creature confused, "We wasn't talking to you", the creature said glaring at us, then it said, "Oh yes precious we was…precious we was."

"Look, I don't know what your game is-", "Games", the creature said excitedly and then jumped onto a small rock, "Oh we love games, doesn't we precious? Does its like games? Does its? Does its? Does its like to play", the creature asked us, smiling broadly. "Maybe", Bilbo said smiling unsure, "Sure", I said awkwardly and I felt the ring's dark amusement and then it went silent again. "What has roots as nobody sees? Is taller than trees? Up, up, up it goes and yet never grows", the creature asked Bilbo, "The mountain", Bilbo answered instantly as if it were obvious. "Yes, yes, now you", the creature said looking at me, "No flesh, feathers, scales, or bones…but has fingers, what is it?" "Gloves", I answered just as quickly and the creature smiled, "Yes! Oh, let's have another one, eh? Yes, do it again! Do it again! No! No more riddles, finish them, finish them now! Gollum, Gollum", the creature yelled before it charged at us. "Wait", I yelled and Bilbo quickly stepped in front of me, "No, no, no, we want to play. We do, don't we", Bilbo asked me faking a smile and I nodded unsure. "Oh, yeah…definitely", I said awkwardly giving Bilbo an unsure look, "See? We want to play, I can see….you are very good at this", Bilbo said cautiously, still giving the creature a fake smile.

The creature's eyes widened and it smiled in excitement, "So why don't we have a game of riddles? Yes? Just you, me, and her", Bilbo said tilting his head, gesturing toward me as he had his legs bent to look the creature in the eyes at its level. The creature crawled to us, "Yes, yes, just us…you, me, and she", the creature said, "Yes, yes", Bilbo said nodding, "And if we win-", "No! Separate…we play separate", the creature yelled disapprovingly. "Fine", I said annoyed, "If either of us win, you show us the way out…and that applies if we both win", I told the creature, "Yes, yes", the creature said and looked up at me annoyed, "And if its lose? What then? Well, if its lose precious, then we eats its", the creature said looking away and talking to itself. Both Bilbo and I looked at each other nervously before it turned around and said, "If Baggins or Shorts loses, we eats its whole", the creature told us calmly and shrugged.

Bilbo hesitated for a moment and then nodded, "Fair enough", he said, oh yeah there's definitely nothing wrong with putting our lives on the menu for this creature…I really don't want to end up someone's lunch. I groaned and I felt the ring laugh in cruel amusement, I was annoyed by this. Both Bilbo and I sheathed our weapons, then we looked at the creature, "Ladies first", the creature said to me, "Um…okay, what has a mouth, but can't chew", I asked the creature. It thought for a moment before it asked, "A river", I sighed and nodded, it cheered in excitement, "Okay, it is light as a feather, but no one can hold it for long, what is it", I asked, "Breath", the creature answered easily. "Another", the creature said ominously and I gulped, "Something and nothing enter, something goes out the window, nothing goes out the door. Who's left", I asked the creature. It thought for a long moment and said, "And? It's and", the creature said excitedly, "One more", the creature said confidently. "Fine, one equals six, two equals one and six, three equals one two and six, four equals one two three and six, five equals one two three four and six. What doe six equal", I asked and the creature answered overconfidently, "One, two, three, four, five, and six."

I shook my head and the creature's eyes widened, "Nope, six equals one…you had to switch the first one", I explained and the creature cried, "No! We still have one left and we'll play as well…Bagginses turn", the creature said ominously and Bilbo gulped, hesitated, then said, "Thirty white horses on a red hill…first they chomp, then they stomp, then they stand still." The creature thought for a moment, it opened and closed its mouth thinking it had the answer, then it asked, "Teeth? Teeth", the creature said excitedly after Bilbo nodded his head, telling it that it was the right answer. "Oh yes precious, but we only have nine", the creature said, then showed us its sharpened and rotting teeth, "Our turn", it said ominously, "Voiceless, it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters." Bilbo worded the riddle, then paced as he thought, "Just a minute…uh…" Bilbo said walking to the edge of the lake inside the cave. "Oh! We lose, we lose! Shut up", the creature told itself.

"Wind…it's wind, of course it is", Bilbo answered turning back around to face the creature and I sighed relieved and the creature growled. "Very clever hobbitses…very clever", the creature growled and crawled towards us, we immediately pulled out our weapons and pointed them at the creature. "A-a-a box without hinges, key, or lid…yet golden treasure is hid", Bilbo said and the creature stopped to think. "Oh, um…box…the lid and a key", the creature said, "Well", Bilbo asked getting impatient and I watched as the creature tried to figure it out and it gave Bilbo a glare, "It's nasty", it whispered as it continued to think. "Box…key", the creature said quietly to itself, "Do you give up", Bilbo asked, "Give us a chance, precious! Give us a chance", the creature cried and it got really frustrated.

Bilbo and I waited anxiously for the creature's answer and then it shouted, "Eggses", excitedly, Bilbo looked upset and quite frankly so was I. "Eggses! Wet, crunchy, little eggses, yes…Grandmother taught us to suck them, yes", the creature yelled happily, this creature must've lived somewhere else before settling in this cave. Then we heard a bat chirp in the distance and turned around to see it fly overhead, turning back around we noticed that the creature had disappeared. I heard the creature exhale creepily as it's voice echoed throughout the cave, "We have one for you: All things it devours…birds, bees, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stones to meal…answer us", the creature said and we couldn't figure out where it was. "Give me a moment, please. I gave you a good long while", Bilbo said sounding annoyed then he repeated the riddle quietly to himself.

"I don't know this one", Bilbo commented as we looked around for the creature, "Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious? Is it crunchable", the creature asked and then grabbed Bilbo's shoulders and we quickly turned around to point our weapons at it. The creature drooled as it stared at us like we were meals on a platter and we quickly stepped back away from the creature, Bilbo kept one arm in front of me as we had our weapon pointed at the creature. "Let me think", Bilbo said as he stayed standing beside me, "It's stuck…Bagginses is stuck…time's up", the creature said and I smirked, the creature just gave us the answer. "Time…the answer is time", Bilbo said confidently and the creature gave us a sorrowful look, then it growled noticing its mistake, "Actually it wasn't that hard", Bilbo said and I rolled my eyes as I elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow", Bilbo cried, "Sure it wasn't", I said smiling and gave him a knowing look and then Bilbo smiled as well, for a moment we forgot we were in a riddle battle with a creature who had every intention on eating us.

"Last question", the creature said breaking us out of our moment and back into the real world, "Last chance", "Okay", Bilbo said nervously as we looked at it. "Ask us", the creature said innocently, then it shouted, "Ask us", "Yes, yes, all right", Bilbo said trying to calm the creature down as he walked to the edge of the lake again with his thumb in his pocket. "What have I got in my pocket", Bilbo asked quietly, "That's…that's not fair", the creature yelled upset, "It's not fair! It's against the rules", then the creature threw down a rock, I glanced at the rock and the creature questioningly. "Now ask us another one", the creature yelled annoyed and crossed its arms like a child, "No, no, no, no, you said, `Ask me a question`, well that's my question, `What have I got in my pocket`", Bilbo said and repeated the riddle again.

The creature jumped down from where it sat, "Three guesses precious, it must give us three", the creature demanded Bilbo who nodded and said, "Three guesses, very well… guess away." Is he crazy, I thought, "Handses", the creature said suddenly and Bilbo was quick to hold up his hands, one holding the sword and the other was empty. "Wrong, guess again", Bilbo said and the creature started freaking out and listed quietly what could be in pockets, "Fish bones, goblins' teeth, wet shells, bats' wings…knife! Oh, shut up", the creature said excitedly and then annoyed. "Wrong again, last guess", Bilbo said, "String! Or nothing", the creature yelled, "Two guesses at once, wrong both times", Bilbo said, pointing out the fact that the creature gave two answers. The creature fell to the ground and sobbed, it's hard to feel bad for it since it was after all planning to eat us after it won.

"So…come then, we won the game…you promised to show us the way out", Bilbo said walking up to the creature, before I grabbed his arm before he could walk any closer. Bilbo looked at me and gave me a nod before looking back at the creature as it said, "Did we so, precious? Did we say so", the creature asked menacingly as it sat up to look at us. "What has it got in its pocketses", asked the creature asked angrily, "That's no concern of yours…you lost", Bilbo said and the creature gave him a disappointed look. "Lost? Lost? Lost…" the creature said menacingly and smiled as it reached its hand into its own pocket. Then its eyes widened in horror and it looked into its pocket, then the other, "Where is it", the creature asked confused, "Where is it", the creature asked again, then checked the pile of bones that laid not too far from us over to the side and near the lake. "No! Ah! Where is it?! No, no", it cried as it ran into the water and splashed at it checked the contents. "Lost", it yelled and quickly crawled to the other side and splashed the water, checking the contents, "Curse us and splash us, my precious is lost!"

"The ring", I whispered to Bilbo and his eyes widened, then he took it out of his pocket and hid it behind his back, "What have you lost", Bilbo asked acting oblivious, "Maybe we can help you find it", I asked. "No! Mustn't ask us! Not its business! It's for us to find", the creature cried, "No! Gollum, Gollum!" Then the creature started panting as it stared into the water, "What has it got in its nasty little pocketses", the creature growled as it slowly turned around to face us. Bilbo held onto the ring even tighter and he didn't seem to notice as it made a little ringing sound and the creature stared at us in realization, "They stole it….they stole it", the creature said angrily, yelled, and then threw a rock at us. Quickly dodging the rock we ran back through the tunnel from where we walked through the first time, we held hands so we couldn't get separated as we took an alternative route.

"Give it to us", the creature yelled, its voice echoing throughout the tunnel as we ran into a dead end where a small crack-like tunnel lead to another route, "Ladies first", Bilbo told me, "What? No…I-", "You're smaller than me, I'll go in after, go", Bilbo said cutting me off and I nodded, the crack was somewhat easy for me to walk through. Then it was Bilbo's turn and he had a little bit more trouble getting through the crack then I did, our faces turned as white as a sheet when we heard the creature yell, "It's ours", and I started pulling on Bilbos arm trying to get him through and finally he was through the crack, but lost a few buttons in the process. Once he was through he landed right on top of me and the ring shot up in the air. After Bilbo quickly apologized to me, he reached up to grab the ring and it fell right on his middle finger. He was about to get up when the creature jumped in and looked around confused, then it crawled right past us yelling, "Thieves…Bagginses! Shortses", Bilbo and I looked at each other confused and got up while holding hands. I felt something bad would happen if I let go of his hand and he didn't protest, and then I felt that the ring was very pleased with itself.

"Wait my precious, wait", we heard the creature cry out as we snuck up behind it, still holding each other's hands. As we slowly approached the creature, it suddenly hid inside the tunnel that we were currently in. I smiled happily once I saw Gandalf and our friends, but soon frowned once they past us in the other tunnel where the creature came out of. We walked forward, but Bilbo stopped then he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the creature whose back was facing us. He was about to slice off its head and I was going to let him as I looked angrily at the creature, at least until it turned around and I couldn't help remember what Gandalf had said. The creature looked around sadly and looked quite upset we both sighed, Bilbo and I looked at each other and I nodded to him, signaling that it was okay to put the weapon away then Bilbo sheathed his weapon.

We walked backwards ready to jump over the creature and while doing so its face returned back to its angry distorted expression. We ran forward and jumped over the creature, Bilbo accidently kicking it in the process. Running out of the cave we heard it yell, "Bagginses, Shortses! Thieves! Curse its and crush its! We hates its forever", Bilbo and I had escaped.


End file.
